By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Royals 16, Tigers 5 – The Kansas City Royals crushed the Tigers with 16 runs on 20 hits on Saturday night.
Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead before Kansas City responded with eight unanswered runs (four in the second, three in fourth and one in sixth).
The Tigers scored three runs in the seventh inning to cut their deficit to an 8-5 margin, but the Royals added three in the bottom half of the seventh and five in the eighth frame.
The Royals were paced by Kendrys Morales with two doubles and five RBIs while Whit Merrifield chipped in with a double and four RBIs.
Justin Upton led Detroit in a losing effort with a home run and three RBIs while Miguel Cabrera and Jose Iglesias each knocked in a run.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Matt Boyd took the loss, allowing seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.
The Tigers are now 34-34 on the season, good for third place in the American League Central Division behind the first-place Cleveland Indians.
Detroit will look to earn a split in the four-game set with a victory against the Royals on Sunday afternoon.
Record: 34-34
3rd Place in AL Central Division (3.5 games behind first-place Cleveland)
3.5 games behind Toronto for last Wild Card spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 97
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 99
Next Game: 06/19/2016 @ Kansas City Royals 2:15 p.m. @ Kaufman Stadium
Hitting stats: Justin Upton HR (6) 3 RBI (28), Miguel Cabrera RBI (41), Jose Iglesias RBI (15), Steven Moya 2B (3), Nick Castellanos 2B (14), Cameron Maybin SB (7).
Pitching stats: Matt Boyd L (0-2) 3.2 IP 8 H 7 R 7 ER 0 BB 1 K.
