The Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals entered play from a very soggy Comerica Park in downtown Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday night. The two combatants were tied for first after the Tigers had taken the first two games of the series, but the Royals were determined to begin the series finale with a different plan of attack. Their on the field performance showed it.
Former Minnesota Twin Josh Willingham led the Royals attack against 15-game winner and Morristown, New Jersey native Rick Porcello with a big at-bat, by making Porcello throw pitch after pitch until finally Willingham found the pitch he liked and deposited it for a single. It was an 11-pitch battle and the undoing of Porcello’s evening. Willingham eventually scored on Salvador Perez’s ground ball and the score at the end of the fourth inning was Kansas City two, Detroit zero.
The two teams will meet in Kansas City on September 19th through the 22nd. The Tigers still have a chance to make the playoffs, but Wednesday night’s loss really hurt them in the Division. The Royals go home to play the Red Sox, while the Tigers face the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park beginning Friday in a key series for both teams, because they are both fighting for real estate in the Wild Card and the Division. The Tigers will have former Tampa Bay David Price on the mound when they take on the Tribe.
