One that felt like the stretch run.

Tigers 4, Royals 1

There’s something about playing the Royals on a later summer night that seems to make everything official. This is what it feels like to close in on a title. It’s entirely subjective, but this homestand is the de facto beginning of the end and the Tigers started it out nicely with 7.1, 1 run innings from Anibal Sanchez (21 GS, 133 IP, 2.50 ERA, 2.39 FIP, 4.5 WAR) who continued to roll past AL offenses with five strikeouts and one walk. Fielder gave the Tigers the lead with a much needed 2 run homer in the first and the Tigers added two more in the 5th to put it out of reach. The Tigers had some trouble running the bases, but Dirks highlighted the offensive attack with 4 hits while filling in at the top for Jackson. The Royals entered the series trailing the Tigers by 7.5 games and after the first of five are already watching that number rise. The Tigers will play two tomorrow with Justin Verlander (25 GS, 158.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 3.5 WAR) taking the ball in the day game and Jose Alvarez (4 GS, 19.2 IP, 5.03 ERA, 5.99 FIP, -0.2 WAR) getting the call for the nightcap.

The Moment: Fielder leaves the yard for the first time in a long while.