By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Packers 34, Lions 27 – The Lions failed to overcome their slow start on Sunday, losing to the Green Bay Packers by a touchdown.
Green Bay jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and led at halftime by a 31-10 advantage.
Detroit scored its first half points on a 42-yard field by Matt Prater and a 73-yard connection between quarterback Matthew Stafford and Marvin Jones Jr.
The Lions outscored Green Bay in the third quarter by a 7-3 margin to cut their deficit to 34-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
Detroit continued its momentum in the fourth, scoring the quarters lone 10 points.
Stafford paced the Lions with 385 passing yards and three touchdown passes on 28 completions while Jones caught six passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
The Packers were led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers with 205 passing yards, Eddie Lacy with 103 rushing yards and Jordy Nelson with 101 receiving yards.
The Lions, who are now 1-2 on the season, will remain on the road next Sunday and will face the Chicago Bears.
Record: 1-2
3rd Place in NFC North Division (2 games behind Minnesota)
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 15
Magic # to clinch an NFC North Division title: 16
Next Game: 10/02/2016 @ Chicago Bears 1:00 p.m. @ Soldier Field
Stats: Passing-Matthew Stafford 28/41 385 Yds 3 Tds 1 Int. Receiving-Marvin Jones Jr. 6 Rec 205 Yds 2 TDs, Eric Ebron 5 Rec 69 Yds, Anquan Boldin 4 Rec 22 Yds 1 TD. Defense- Darius Slay 4 tackles, Kerry Hyder/Haloti Ngata 1 sack each. Kicking-Matt Prater 2/3 FG (42, 50 Yds) 3/3 XP.
Royals 12, Tigers 9 – The Kansas City Royals pounced on the Tigers early and held on to beat Detroit on Sunday afternoon to win the three-game set.
The Royals scored four runs in the first inning without an out recorded, then added three in the third to take a commanding 7-0 lead.
The Tigers responded with a grand slam home run from Victor Martinez in the bottom of the third to cut their deficit to 4-3.
Kansas City however managed to added two runs in both the fourth and sixth innings to take an 11-5 lead.
Detroit managed to cut its deficit to as low as two runs at 11-9 after eight innings, but the Royals added a run in the ninth and held Detroit scoreless in the final frame.
The Tigers had Miguel Cabrera at the plate representing the tying run, but flew out to shallow left field to end the game.
Alex Gordon paced the Royals with three hits and three RBIs while Kendrys Morales chipped in with three hits and two runs knocked in.
The Tigers were led in a losing effort by Cameron Maybin with his first four-hit performance of the season while Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton each added three hits.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Matt Boyd failed to record an out and took the loss in the contest.
The Tigers are now 83-72 on the season and trail the Baltimore Orioles by a game and a half with seven game remaining.
Detroit will start its last home series of the season on Monday night against the first-place Cleveland Indians, before closing out the season against the Braves in Atlanta next weekend.
Record: 83-72
2nd Place in AL Central Division (7 games behind first-place Cleveland)
1.5 games behind Baltimore for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 9
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 15
Misery # to AL Central Division elimination: 1
Misery # to playoff elimination: 6
Next Game: 09/26/2016 vs. Cleveland Indians 7:10 p.m. @ Comerica Park
Hitting stats: Victor Martinez HR (27) 4 RBI (86), Justin Upton 2B (27) HR (28) RBI (82), J.D. Martinez 2B (34) RBI (66), Miguel Cabrera RBI (95), Jose Iglesias 2B (24), Cameron Maybin 3B (5).
Pitching stats: Matt Boyd L (6-5) 0 IP 5 H 4 R 4 ER 0 BB 0 K.
