The Detroit Tigers saved the game and squandered it, all in the eighth inning Sunday against the Kansas City Royals.
The defense — left-fielder Victor Reyes, shortstop Javier Báez and catcher Tucker Barnhart — executed a relay to perfection to get a K.C. runner at the plate, but on the next play, a hard-hit ball got past third baseman Jeimer Candelario and the Royals scored the game-winning run.
“I think it’s a tough play,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think it’s a makable play. But those are hard plays. This is a tough league, and guys hit it hard. You got one chance to field it and get it to first, but he just couldn’t come up with it.”
The Tigers lost, 3-2, in the series finale at Comerica Park.
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The Tigers (51-83) dropped two of three games to the Royals. Left-handed closer Gregory Soto entered for the eighth inning — his first eighth-inning appearance since Aug. 1 — and walked Nicky Lopez on seven pitches with one out.
“When you go to the bullpen as early as we had to, the way it all mapped out, we’re just trying to get to the finish line with the lead or tied,” Hinch said. “Obviously, they came up big at the last opportunity.”
MJ Melendez doubled to the left-field corner, and Lopez tried to score from first base. The relay throw, which ended in Barnhart smothering a one-hopper from Báez, beat Lopez to the plate for the second out.
Melendez advanced to third on the play at the plate.
Royals rookie Bobby Witt Jr. then hammered a third-pitch slider with a 101.7 mph exit velocity. The ball snuck underneath a diving Candelario and rolled into left field. Melendez scored easily, putting Kansas City ahead 3-2, while Witt stretched a single into a double.
“We’ve got to make sure that play is made,” Báez said.
Tigers rookie center fielder Riley Greene finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the third inning. He also completed a leaping catch in the right-center gap in the ninth inning.
Greene is hitting .396 (21-for-53) with two doubles, three triples, two home runs, five walks and 16 strikeouts over his past 13 games.
Second baseman Ryan Kreidler, a fellow rookie playing the third MLB game of his career, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
“I had to get adjusted when he played third (base) because he’s so long,” Báez said of Kreidler’s defense. “He can get to balls that we can get at the same time. But he’s a great athlete, too. Like I’ve said all year, they just got to get experience, playing time and make adjustments when they make mistakes.”
A rough fourth for Manning
Right-hander Matt Manning took the mound for his seventh start since returning from the injured list in early August. The 24-year-old allowed two runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over four innings.
The fourth inning, an 33-pitch effort, doomed Manning.
“It was just finding my pitches,” Manning said. “I would have it here and there, then lose it for a little bit. For the most part, I think my fastball missed over the plate when it should have been away. I ran into some trouble in the fourth inning.”
During that inning, he gave up two singles, two walks and one hit-by-pitch. Michael A. Taylor singled to open the fourth, then Michael Massey was hit by a slider. A one-out walk to Drew Waters loaded the bases.
Lopez singled on a first-pitch curveball from Manning, putting the Royals ahead 1-0. The next batter, Melendez, drew a nine-pitch walk — the plate appearance included five fouls — with the bases loaded to increase the margin to 2-0.
The Tigers, despite Manning’s struggles, stuck with their young pitcher against two of the best hitters in Kansas City’s lineup. Witt Jr. flied out to right field on a first-pitch slider; Salvador Perez struck out swinging on a down-and-away 94.2 mph four-seam fastball.
“He’s got to pitch through this,” Hinch said. “When you’re making decisions, when you’re trying to develop young pitchers and getting them through the stress that comes with being erratic or spraying the ball, it’s tough living sometimes. He’s got to learn how to do it.”
For Manning’s 90 pitches (57 strikes), he threw 43 four-seam fastballs (48%), 20 sliders (22%), 12 changeups (13%), 11 curveballs (12%) and four sinkers (4%). He recorded eight swings and misses — four with his fastball — and seven called strikes.
His fastball averaged 92.9 mph.
Max pain
Opposing Manning, Royals right-hander Max Castillo allowed two runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 4⅔ innings. After Kansas City scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning, the Tigers countered with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
Báez lined a changeup in a 2-0 count into left for a leadoff single. Harold Castro, like Báez, worked a 2-0 count. Instead of a changeup, though, Castro received a fastball in the strike zone.
“I’m seeing the ball better and slowing everything down,” Báez said. “I’m working in the (batting) cage to focus on seeing the ball and keeping my plan.”
Castro hammered the ball 390 feet and into the right-center seats for a two-run home run, his sixth homer of the year, to make it 2-2.
Goodbye, Pineda
After Sunday’s game, Hinch announced that veteran right-hander Michael Pineda has been designated for assignment, with the team intending to call up a reliever in his place and give his spot in the rotation to a younger pitcher.
Pineda returned from the 15-day injured list on Saturday and allowed five runs on six hits with two walks over four innings. Signed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract during the spring, Pineda’s time with the Tigers featured a 2-7 record and a 5.79 ERA over 46⅔ innings, with 26 strikeouts and eight walks.