While the Tigers were watching the score between the Twins and Guardians, they also had to work hard to get into the postseason, and this wild game was definitely proof that they wanted to do that. Even when it looked like the Royals might pull off a walkover victory early on, the Tigers showed that they will give it their all until the final day of the season.
Reese Olson was back with the Tigers, but since he was just recovering from an injury, he had to be kept on a short leash at all times. The Royals called Seth Lugo to the mound.
Kerry Carpenter singled with one out and Riley Greene walked with two outs in the first inning, but the Tigers were unable to score a run. The Royals went 1-2-3 in the second half.
The Tigers were duly eliminated at the start of the second inning. The same was true for the Royals at the end of the inning.
Parker Meadows singled with one out in the third inning, but was eliminated by a forced out by Kerry Carpenter. Matt Vierling hit a single and Greene worked another walk. But the third out of the inning left the bases loaded and no one brought a ball home. Adam Frazier started the second half with a walk, then Yuli Guriel and Kyle Isbel got back-to-back singles. Then Bobby Witt Jr. hit a grand slam and at that point things weren’t looking good. Salvador Perez hit a single and that was it for Olson, who played just 2.1 innings and was replaced by Sean Guenther. A double play then ended the inning.
Zach McKinstry hit a one-out triple in the fourth inning and was then brought home by a sacrifice fly from Trey Sweeney.
In the second period, MJ Melendez hit a one-out triple. Then pinch-hitter Maikel Garcia singled to bring Melendez home. At the end of the fourth, the Royals were up 5-1.
Parker Meadows hit a single to start the fifth inning and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Then birthday boy Matt Vierling hit a single and Meadows scored. With two out, Colt Keith hit a two-run homer and suddenly the game was right again. Spencer Torkelson hit a single and chased Seth Lugo from the game. Sam Long came in and allowed a wild pitch, allowing Torkelson to advance, but the Tigers could not score any more runs. Brenan Hanifee came out of the Tigers’ bullpen next and Isbel hit a triple. Odd number of triples tonight. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a single and Isbel scored. Witt stole second base, although it was close, and the Tigers challenged the safe call, but it was ultimately upheld. No more runs were scored. Off camera, however, something happened as third baseman coach Vance Wilson was ejected after a heated argument with third baseman umpire David Rackley.
In the sixth inning, Andy Ibanez and Jake Rogers started with back-to-back singles. Wenceel Perez came in as a pinch hitter for Kerry Carpenter, then hit a double to bring both baserunners home and tie the game. John Schreiber came out of the Royals’ bullpen next. Matt Vierling scored the winning run with a single. Happy birthday! The Royals were up 1-2-3 in the second half.
James McArthur came out of the bullpen next for the Royals. McKinstry hit a single and then stole second base. McArthur appeared to be injured and left the game early. He was replaced by Angel Zerpa. Jake Rogers managed a walk, but no runs were scored. In the second, Yuli Gurriel hit a single, then Will Vest came in as a reliever. Tommy Pham hit a single, but two outs ended the inning.
The Tigers were eliminated in order in the eighth inning. Beau Brieske replaced Vest and Michael Massey hit a single. Then Hunter Renfroe got a walk. A strikeout and a double play ended the inning without any damage and the Tigers remained in the lead.
Spencer Torkelson singled with one out, then McKinstry doubled. Torkelson was identified at third base after an apparent confusion in reading the coach’s signals at third base. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jason Foley was hoping to avoid Bobby Witt Jr., and he did just that with three consecutive outs.
Final score: Tigers 7, Royals 6
