Tork homers twice, Detroit Tigers get 4 runs in 9th, still fall 11-10 to K.C. Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Spencer Torkelson drove in five runs with two home runs, marking his second multi-homer game of the season. Javier Báez returned to the lineup with three hits, one walk and two stolen bases. Miguel Cabrera, the eldest player on the roster, made up for a pair of strikeouts with a pair of walks.
The offense did its part with 11 hits, seven walks and, eventually, 10 runs.
But the Detroit Tigers couldn't put together a complete performance in Tuesday's 11-10 loss to the Kansas City Royals in the second of four games at Kauffman Stadium. Left-hander Tarik Skubal surrendered seven runs across four innings in his third start since returning from flexor tendon surgery.
EL MAGO: For the first time, Tigers' Javier Báez is trying to completely revamp his attack
STICK AROUND: Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson calls out Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles
The Tigers (42-52) responded from Skubal's struggles to keep the game within reach, cutting the deficit to 7-6 after the top of the sixth inning, then gave it back with four late runs off the bullpen, then made it a game again with a ninth-inning rally that just fell short.
Tork time
Torkelson put the Tigers ahead, 2-0, by following Matt Vierling's single with a 430-foot two-run home run to left-center field off left-hander Daniel Lynch's third-pitch sinker on the outside part of the strike zone.
Trailing 7-2, the Tigers put together three consecutive one-out hits in the fifth inning: Andy Ibáñez's single, Vierling's single and Torkelson's three-run home run. This time, Torkelson tagged a fifth-pitch knuckle curve for a 382-foot homer to left field.
The second homer from Torkelson put the Tigers within two runs, down 7-5. In the sixth inning, Javier Báez doubled and advanced to third base on a fielding error by left fielder MJ Melendez.
Báez scored on Akil Baddoo's sacrifice fly and cut the Royals' lead to 7-6.
Torkelson, hitting .233 in 92 games, finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs. He added a double to the right-field corner — his 21st double of the season — in the seventh inning against right-handed reliever Carlos Hernandez.
A nailbiter, somehow
Facing righty Scott Barlow in the ninth, the Tigers slowly loaded the bases with Zach McKinstry's single, Vierling's walk and Kerry Carpenter's walk. With one out, the next three batters reached safely: Jake Rogers (single), Báez (single) and Nick Maton (walk).
A runner scored from all three batters.
Just like that, the Tigers were down 11-9.
The deficit went to 11-10 when Baddoo grounded into a force out, which allowed Rogers to score from third base. But Riley Greene, who entered as a pinch-hitter back in the eighth inning, flew out to center field for the third out.
Barlow threw 33 pitches.
Seven off Skubal
Before the Tigers' unsuccessful comeback(s), Skubal — in his third start since returning form flexor tendon surgery — allowed seven runs on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts in four innings.
He threw 45 of 64 pitches for strikes.
The 26-year-old looked electric in his first two innings, racking up all three of his strikeouts, but he struggled in his final two innings. He needed 32 pitches to complete three outs in the fourth inning, and by that point, the velocity of his pitches experienced a noticeable decrease.
The Royals tied the game, 2-2, in the third inning with a double from Edward Olvares (first-pitch four-seam fastball), a triple from Darion Blanco (first-pitch slider) and a sacrifice fly from Maikel Garcia (fourth-pitch slider).
Five more runs came in the fourth inning — making it 7-2, Royals — on three singles, two doubles, one triple and one walk.
The Tigers pulled their infield defense in with two runners in scoring position in the middle of the messy inning, only for Olivares to sneak a grounder past Báez and into center. The single up the middle plated the fourth and fifth runs for the Royals.
Skubal tossed 31 four-seam fastballs (48%), 12 sliders (19%), 10 changeups (16%), nine sinkers (14%) and two knuckle curves (3%). He generated eight whiffs and eight called strikes.
His fastball averaged 95.2 and ranged between 92-98 mph.
Oh, that bullpen ...
Right-hander Beau Brieske, the second reliever out of the bullpen, took over for the sixth inning — in search of keeping it a one-run deficit — in his second appearance of the season. He recently returned from a lengthy stay on the injured list with an ulnar nerve entrapment.
A leadoff walk foreshadowed Brieske's command troubles, and with two outs, the Royals increased their lead to 9-6 with back-to-back doubles from Blanco (first-pitch slider) and Garcia (second-pitch changeup).
The Tigers covered the final two innings with left-hander Chasen Shreve in the seventh and Brendan White in the eighth. The Royals tacked on two runs, taking an 11-6 lead, against White.
Blanco finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sputter out in 11-10 loss to Kansas City Royals
