KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Anibal Sanchez could have thrown his fastball into a knothole on Sunday.
The Kansas City Royals are getting used to it, too.
The Tigers' starter once again breezed through the American League champions Sunday, carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Alex Avila also drove in three runs and the Tigers went on to a 6-4 victory for a split of the four-game series.
"I guess I just know them really well," Sanchez said when asked why he continually confounds the Royals. "We'll see. I face them again in my next start."
Good news for the Tigers. Not so much for the Royals.
Detroit dropped the first two games of the series before squeaking out a 2-1 victory behind David Price's masterpiece Saturday night. Sanchez (2-3) then held the Royals without a baserunner until Paulo Orlando dribbled a single up the middle leading off the sixth inning.
Sanchez wound up allowing three runs and four hits over 7 1/3 innings.
"When his stuff is on," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus aid, "he can be electric."
Kansas City nearly bailed out Jeremy Guthrie (1-2) by scoring two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth. But Tom Gorzelanny struck out Eric Hosmer to leave a runner aboard, and Joakim Soria shut down his former team in the ninth for his 10th save.
"I thought we could have won three out of the four, quite honestly," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I felt we had a great opportunity to win that game last night.
Guthrie didn't give them much of a chance on Sunday. After giving up an RBI single to Avila in the second inning and loading the bases for him in the fourth, Avila hit a two-run single that ultimately cleared the bases when Orlando fumbled the ball.
Ian Kinsler added a single in the fifth before Cabrera hit his sixth homer this year.
Guthrie ended up allowing all six runs and 11 hits in six innings. The poor outing came after a dazzling start to the series by Kansas City pitchers, who had allowed Detroit's potent offense to score just four runs total in the first three games.
"It was kind of a strange day," Yost said. "He commanded the ball. His strike to ball ratio was good. He was changing speeds well. The one hit that hurt was the two-run homer by Cabrera."
Sanchez has struggled early this season -- the Tigers had lost his last four starts -- but he's owned the Royals his entire career. He had been 5-2 with a 1.07 ERA in his previous seven starts against the Tigers' biggest rival for division supremacy.
With a crowd of 38,326 packed inside Kauffman Stadium, the third straight sellout, the right-hander calmly mowed through the Royals lineup for most of the afternoon.
Kansas City did not have its second baserunner until Sanchez walked Kendrys Morales with one out in the seventh. The Royals went on to score on Erik Kratz's sacrifice fly and Omar Infante's single, then added runs in the eighth on a single by Morales and Mike Moustakas's groundout.
"We know the Royals pretty well. They know us pretty well," Ausmus said, when asked to sum up the first series of the season between AL Central contenders. "I don't think there was any eureka moments. Just two pretty good teams."
BIG CROWDS
The Royals welcomed 143,609 fans, the seventh-best mark for a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. It was a record for a four-game set since the 2009 renovation decreased capacity.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: SS Jose Iglesias left in the sixth inning with tightness in his left groin, and is listed as day to day. Andrew Romine replaced him in the lineup.
Royals: All-Star closer Greg Holland (strained pectoral muscle) is expected to come off the disabled list Tuesday. He reported no problems after a simulated game Saturday.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Shane Greene will take the mound after a day off to open a three-game set against the White Sox. The series beginning Tuesday night wraps up a 10-game trip.
Royals: LHP Jason Vargas tries to solve his early season struggles in the opener of a three-game series against Cleveland on Tuesday night. Kansas City is off Monday.
The Kansas City Royals are getting used to it, too.
The Tigers' starter once again breezed through the American League champions Sunday, carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Alex Avila also drove in three runs and the Tigers went on to a 6-4 victory for a split of the four-game series.
"I guess I just know them really well," Sanchez said when asked why he continually confounds the Royals. "We'll see. I face them again in my next start."
Good news for the Tigers. Not so much for the Royals.
Detroit dropped the first two games of the series before squeaking out a 2-1 victory behind David Price's masterpiece Saturday night. Sanchez (2-3) then held the Royals without a baserunner until Paulo Orlando dribbled a single up the middle leading off the sixth inning.
Sanchez wound up allowing three runs and four hits over 7 1/3 innings.
"When his stuff is on," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus aid, "he can be electric."
Kansas City nearly bailed out Jeremy Guthrie (1-2) by scoring two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth. But Tom Gorzelanny struck out Eric Hosmer to leave a runner aboard, and Joakim Soria shut down his former team in the ninth for his 10th save.
"I thought we could have won three out of the four, quite honestly," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I felt we had a great opportunity to win that game last night.
Guthrie didn't give them much of a chance on Sunday. After giving up an RBI single to Avila in the second inning and loading the bases for him in the fourth, Avila hit a two-run single that ultimately cleared the bases when Orlando fumbled the ball.
Ian Kinsler added a single in the fifth before Cabrera hit his sixth homer this year.
Guthrie ended up allowing all six runs and 11 hits in six innings. The poor outing came after a dazzling start to the series by Kansas City pitchers, who had allowed Detroit's potent offense to score just four runs total in the first three games.
"It was kind of a strange day," Yost said. "He commanded the ball. His strike to ball ratio was good. He was changing speeds well. The one hit that hurt was the two-run homer by Cabrera."
Sanchez has struggled early this season -- the Tigers had lost his last four starts -- but he's owned the Royals his entire career. He had been 5-2 with a 1.07 ERA in his previous seven starts against the Tigers' biggest rival for division supremacy.
With a crowd of 38,326 packed inside Kauffman Stadium, the third straight sellout, the right-hander calmly mowed through the Royals lineup for most of the afternoon.
Kansas City did not have its second baserunner until Sanchez walked Kendrys Morales with one out in the seventh. The Royals went on to score on Erik Kratz's sacrifice fly and Omar Infante's single, then added runs in the eighth on a single by Morales and Mike Moustakas's groundout.
"We know the Royals pretty well. They know us pretty well," Ausmus said, when asked to sum up the first series of the season between AL Central contenders. "I don't think there was any eureka moments. Just two pretty good teams."
BIG CROWDS
The Royals welcomed 143,609 fans, the seventh-best mark for a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. It was a record for a four-game set since the 2009 renovation decreased capacity.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: SS Jose Iglesias left in the sixth inning with tightness in his left groin, and is listed as day to day. Andrew Romine replaced him in the lineup.
Royals: All-Star closer Greg Holland (strained pectoral muscle) is expected to come off the disabled list Tuesday. He reported no problems after a simulated game Saturday.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Shane Greene will take the mound after a day off to open a three-game set against the White Sox. The series beginning Tuesday night wraps up a 10-game trip.
Royals: LHP Jason Vargas tries to solve his early season struggles in the opener of a three-game series against Cleveland on Tuesday night. Kansas City is off Monday.
2:10PM,EDT,May 3,2015
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Detroit - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Gose grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Kinsler grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Cabrera singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| V. Martínez flied out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Gordon fouled out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Moustakas grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| K. Morales struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| J.D. Martinez fouled out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Céspedes doubled to deep left. | 0 | 0 |
| Avila singled to left, Céspedes scored. | 1 | 0 |
| Castellanos lined into double play, center to first, Avila doubled off first. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Hosmer lined out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Pérez grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 0 |
| Infante flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Iglesias reached on infield single to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Gose flied out to center, Iglesias to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Kinsler grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Iglesias out at second. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Orlando lined out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Dyson popped out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Colón flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Cabrera singled to left. | 1 | 0 |
| V. Martínez singled to right, Cabrera to second. | 1 | 0 |
| J.D. Martinez grounded into fielder's choice to third, Cabrera out at third, V. Martínez to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Céspedes singled to center, V. Martínez to third, J.D. Martinez to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Avila singled to center, V. Martínez, J.D. Martinez and Céspedes scored, Avila to second on error by right fielder Orlando. | 4 | 0 |
| Castellanos fouled out to right, Avila to third. | 4 | 0 |
| Iglesias grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 0 |
| 3 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Gordon flied out to left. | 4 | 0 |
| Moustakas grounded out to second. | 4 | 0 |
| K. Morales popped out to shortstop. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Gose grounded out to second. | 4 | 0 |
| Kinsler singled to left center. | 4 | 0 |
| Cabrera homered to left center (420 feet), Kinsler scored. | 6 | 0 |
| V. Martínez grounded out to second. | 6 | 0 |
| J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. | 6 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Hosmer struck out looking. | 6 | 0 |
| Pérez grounded out to pitcher. | 6 | 0 |
| Infante flied out to right. | 6 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Céspedes grounded out to shortstop. | 6 | 0 |
| Avila flied out to center. | 6 | 0 |
| Castellanos doubled to deep left. | 6 | 0 |
| Romine hit for Iglesias. | 6 | 0 |
| Romine flied out to left. | 6 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Romine at shortstop. | 6 | 0 |
| Orlando singled to center. | 6 | 0 |
| Dyson grounded into fielder's choice to second, Orlando out at second. | 6 | 0 |
| Colón lined out to center. | 6 | 0 |
| Gordon grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Dyson out at second. | 6 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Brandon Finnegan pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Kratz catching. | 6 | 0 |
| Finnegan relieved Guthrie. | 6 | 0 |
| Gose grounded out to second. | 6 | 0 |
| Kinsler struck out swinging. | 6 | 0 |
| Cabrera struck out swinging. | 6 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Moustakas struck out swinging. | 6 | 0 |
| K. Morales walked. | 6 | 0 |
| Hosmer doubled to deep right, K. Morales to third. | 6 | 0 |
| Kratz hit sacrifice fly to center, K. Morales scored, Hosmer to third. | 6 | 1 |
| Infante singled to center, Hosmer scored. | 6 | 2 |
| Orlando grounded into fielder's choice to third, Infante out at second. | 6 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Brandon Finnegan pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| V. Martínez walked. | 6 | 2 |
| J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. | 6 | 2 |
| Céspedes grounded into double play, third to second to first, V. Martínez out at second. | 6 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Anibal Sanchez pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Dyson struck out swinging. | 6 | 2 |
| Colón singled to center. | 6 | 2 |
| Gorzelanny relieved Sánchez. | 6 | 2 |
| Gordon doubled to right, Colón to third. | 6 | 2 |
| Moustakas grounded out to second, Colón scored, Gordon to third. | 6 | 3 |
| K. Morales singled to left center, Gordon scored. | 6 | 4 |
| Hosmer struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Kelvin Herrera pitching for Kansas City | DET | KC |
| Herrera relieved Finnegan. | 6 | 4 |
| Avila grounded out to shortstop. | 6 | 4 |
| Castellanos struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| Romine grounded out to second. | 6 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Joakim Soria pitching for Detroit | DET | KC |
| Pérez at third base. | 6 | 4 |
| Soria relieved Gorzelanny. | 6 | 4 |
| Kratz grounded out to third. | 6 | 4 |
| Infante grounded out to shortstop. | 6 | 4 |
| Orlando lined out to right. | 6 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit Tigers | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Gose CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .302 | .333 | .444 |
| Kinsler 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .284 | .351 | .353 |
| Cabrera 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .366 | .459 | .624 |
| V. Martínez DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | .213 | .330 | .227 |
| J.D. Martinez RF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .240 | .269 | .480 |
| Céspedes LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .310 | .327 | .550 |
| Avila C | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .192 | .354 | .269 |
| Castellanos 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .227 | .289 | .375 |
Pérez 3B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .143 | .143 |
| Iglesias SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .354 | .400 | .494 |
a-Romine PH-SS
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .545 | .643 | .545 |
| Totals | 35 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 117 | |||
| a-flied out to left for J Iglesias in the 6th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Céspedes (10, Guthrie); Castellanos (5, Guthrie) HR: Cabrera (6, 5th inning off Guthrie 1 on, 1 Out) RBI: Avila 3 (7), Cabrera 2 (19) GIDP: Céspedes Tigers RISP: 3-8 (Céspedes 1-1, Avila 2-2, J.D. Martinez 0-1, Romine 0-1, Iglesias 0-1, Kinsler 0-1, Castellanos 0-1) Team LOB: 3 | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| SS J IGLESIAS (GROIN) LEFT GAME TOP 6TH |
Game Information
| Stadium | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO |
| Attendance | 38,326 (101.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:38 |
| Weather | 77 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 13 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Dale Scott, First Base - CB Bucknor, Second Base - Lance Barrett, Third Base - Dan Iassogna |
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