Kansas City controlled this game for most of the night. Then the seventh inning arrived, and Detroit flipped it in one swing.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| DET | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 4 | 10 | 0 |
James Outman went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, and that hit was the whole story. His three-run shot to right center in the seventh, which scored Dillon Dingler and Kerry Carpenter, turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 Tigers lead. It was Outman's only hit of the night, but it did the necessary damage.
Before that, Isaac Collins had given the Royals the early advantage, homering to right in the sixth to score Michael Massey and put Kansas City ahead 2-0. The Royals answered again in the eighth when Josh Rojas singled to center to bring home Tyler Tolbert, tying the game at 3-3. But Detroit had the last word: Dingler doubled to left in the bottom half, scoring Hao Yu Lee to make it 4-3, a lead the Tigers would not relinquish.
Kansas City starter R. Dobnak was excellent, working 5.0 innings and allowing just 4 hits with no runs, striking out three. The Royals' bullpen could not hold the line behind him, allowing 4 runs over 3.0 innings, including the decisive eighth-inning double. Steven Cruz took the loss after allowing a run in his one inning of work. Detroit starter Troy Melton went 5.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts, and Drew Anderson picked up the win in relief. Kyle Finnegan closed it out for his second save, retiring the side in two-thirds of an inning.
The win moved Detroit to 49-54, extending its winning streak to two games. Kansas City fell to 43-61, having lost after its previous win. Finnegan, meanwhile, sits at 391 career games played, 400 within reach.