A slaughter.
Tigers 16, Royals 4
If you’re a Royals fan, you might want to look the other way. Drew Smyly (15 GS, 87.2 IP, 4.00 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 0.7 fWAR) was fine, but he all he had to do was not pitch like a 16 year old and he was probably going to come out on the winning side. The Tigers bats absolutely demolished Royals’ pitching. Three in the first, three in the fourth, eight in the fifth, and add on runs even later. Everyone had a hit. The Tigers had 9 extra base hits and a whole bunch of singles and walks to boot. You’d think a 16 run attack would warrant a really long recap, but in reality, it’s hard to pick anything out of the experience because it was so preposterously one-sided. The Tigers beat the Royals by a lot of runs. Recap over. Anibal Sanchez (15 GS, 87.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 2.1 fWAR) tries to get back on track Friday.
The Moment: The Tigers hang 8 runs on the Royals in the 5th.