The Kansas City Royals built an early lead on power and held it through nine innings, defeating the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium. Two home runs in the first six innings proved enough for Kansas City, which improved to 57-74 with the win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| KC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Kyle Isbel struck first for the Royals, hitting a go-ahead solo home run in the third inning to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead. Salvador Perez added another solo shot in the fourth, extending the advantage to 2-0. Perez finished 1-for-3 with the home run and one RBI, while Isbel went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
Detroit's Hao Yu Lee cut into the deficit with a solo home run in the fifth inning, bringing the Tigers within one at 2-1. The Tigers could not close the gap further, and Kansas City added an insurance run in the sixth to reach the final margin of 3-1.
Michael Wacha was the game's protagonist, allowing just three hits and one earned run over seven innings while striking out six. The right-hander threw 96 pitches and earned the win. Craig Kimbrel and Alex Lange combined for two scoreless innings to close out the game. Drew Anderson took the loss for Detroit after allowing three runs on five hits in five innings of work. The Tigers fell to 61-68 and extended their losing streak to four games.
Kansas City's victory extended its winning streak to seven games, a significant turnaround for a team that has struggled much of the season.