KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals honored Detroit Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera before the final game of his career at Kauffman Stadium with a $10,000 check to his charitable foundation and a framed collection of pictures from when he clinched his 2012 Triple Crown.
Cabrera thanked the Royals with another clutch hit.
The 40-year-old delivered the go-ahead single to cap a two-run sixth inning in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Royals. Cabrera, who isn’t expected to play in Thursday’s series finale, will finish his legendary 21-year MLB career with 138 hits at Kauffman Stadium.
The Tigers (43-52) held the Royals to two runs behind strong pitching performances from left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez and relievers Jason Foley and Alex Lange in the eighth and ninth innings.
Lange stranded runners on the corners for his 16th save, striking out Kyle Isbel on three straight pitches.
In the sixth inning, Riley Greene cranked a leadoff double to set up the scoring opportunity. Kerry Carpenter drove in Greene with a one-out single, tying the game at two runs. A two-out walk from Javier Báez kept the inning alive.
That’s when Cabrera, facing right-handed reliever Carlos Hernández, drilled a fifth-pitch 100 mph four-seam fastball into right-center. The 1,862nd RBI of his career put the Tigers ahead, 2-1.
Cabrera received an ovation from the fans after his final plate appearance in the top of the ninth inning.
E-Rod’s energy
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, in his third-to-last start before the Aug. 1 trade deadline, took a perfect game into the fifth inning. The 30-year-old filled up the strike zone from the onset of his outing.
He retired the first 13 batters.
The Royals finally put a runner on base with one out in the fifth inning, thanks to Matt Duffy’s two-strike single into center field. The next batter, Michael Massey, pulled a sinker into right field for an RBI double, tying the game at one.
Rodriguez came one strike away from escaping without further damage, but Isbel put the Royals ahead, 2-1, with an RBI double on a two-strike four-seam fastball over the middle of the strike zone.
In the sixth, Rodriguez retired three batters on six pitches. He then worked around a one-out hit-by-pitch and a two-out single in the seventh inning.
Rodriguez, who threw 65 of 89 pitches for strikes, allowed two runs on four hits and zero walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. All seven of his strikeouts occurred in the first four innings.
The Royals averaged a 91.2 mph exit velocity on 18 balls in play.
The Tigers’ ace threw 41 four-seam fastballs (46%), 15 sliders (17%), 15 changeups (17%), 12 cutters (13%) and six sinkers (7%). Twelve of his 15 whiffs took place in the first four innings.
He has a 2.69 ERA in 14 starts.
Hammerin’ Javy
The Tigers struck first in the second inning.
Báez continued his improved performance since sitting out Monday by launching a home run off left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. He pulled a two-strike changeup at the bottom of the strike zone for 409-foot solo shot to left-center field.
It was Báez’s first homer since July 2 and his seventh homer in 90 games this season.
Yarbrough, who exited in the sixth inning, three pitches into a walk to Báez, with a left hamstring cramp, allowed three runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts over 5⅔ innings. It was his second start since returning from the injured list.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.