Tigers Walk Off Royals in Extra Innings Despite DeJong’s First Kansas City Home Run

It took 11 innings to decide, but the door is not shut on the Detroit Tigers securing a split in the first series of the month of August. The Tigers (53-59) walked off the Royals in a come-from-behind test at Comerica Park on Saturday.

Scoring did not commence until the sixth inning, when Royals (62-50) first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino hit his 15th home run of the season, a solo shot; it was his third long ball of the series. The Tigers struck back with an RBI single by Andy Ibanez in the bottom half, scoring Bligh Madris to tie things up.

In the seventh inning, recent trade acquisition Paul DeJong had his first moment of major impact in a Royals uniform. He hit a two-run home run off Kenta Maeda, crushing a hanging pitch into left field. That gave Kansas City a 3-1 lead, and against a Tigers offense that has not been among the best in baseball this season, that’s the position in which the Royals entered the bottom of the ninth.

Relief pitcher Hunter Harvey struggled, giving up a solo home run to Bligh Madris. Up two, solos aren’t fatal, but Detroit kept the inning going and that culminated in a game-tying RBI double by shortstop Javier Baez. Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. scored Kyle Isbel on a sacrifice fly in the 10th, but again the feisty Tigers came back, leveling the score once more with a Justyn-Henry Malloy double in the home half.

The 11th and final inning initially played out in a similar fashion, with Kansas City getting the first run. Extra-innings runner Dairon Blanco stole third base, initially being called out until a challenge from the dugout and reached home on a single from Hunter Renfroe. Royals manager Matt Quatraro sent out closer James McArthur to get the last three outs, and lock up the series.

That outcome was not in the cards. Instead, the Tigers reaped the benefits of an RBI triple by Parker Meadows, scoring 11th-inning runner Ryan Vilade, and a walk-off single from right fielder Wenceel Perez. McArthur had induced a double play on the prior batter, but that wasn’t enough to finish the deal, and the Royals blew the save on an evening where another new face (former Oakland Athletic Lucas Erceg) pitched in relief.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Kansas City. The series finale in Detroit is scheduled for a 12:40 p.m. CT first pitch Sunday.