Detroit Tigers infielder Hao-Yu Lee had the game-breaking, three-run home run in the top of the 8th inning, but it was catcher Dillon Dingler who sealed the win with the go-ahead run, scoring Lee from second base.
The Tigers (49-54) beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Thursday, July 23, in the first of a four-game series at Comerica Park in Detroit.
Troy Melton pitched five scoreless innings before allowing a two-run home run to left fielder Isaac Collins in the sixth inning, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead.
Melton has struggled in the first inning of his outings, and Thursday was no exception. He loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first, but struck out second baseman Michael Massey to bring up Collins, whose dropped-third strikeout led to a play at the plate with catcher Carter Jensen attempting to score on the play. Melton made an acrobatic leap to step on home plate while avoiding Jensen for the third out of the inning.
Melton has a 3.60 ERA in the first inning of his 10 starts this season and an ERA of 2.00 or below in every other inning. The only Tigers starter who entered Thursday with a higher first-inning ERA was Framber Valdez (7.32), with Casey Mize (0.00) and Keider Montero (0.56) sporting the team’s lowest first-inning ERAs.
Catcher Dillon Dingler recorded the go-ahead, two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning off Kansas City reliever Steven Cruz, scoring Lee from second base. Lee, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, reached with one out in the eighth on a clutch single up the middle to give Detroit the go-ahead opportunity.
The Tigers' offense had to make another comeback in the seventh inning. Consecutive singles from Dingler and right fielder Kerry Carpenter to begin the inning put the tying run on base with no one out, but it looked like the bottom of the Tigers' lineup would fail to capitalize, with first baseman Spencer Torkelson striking out and left fielder Zach McKinstry lining out weakly to shortstop Andrew Velazquez.
Center fielder James Outman flipped the lead on a 2-2 fastball, sending a high shot over the wall in right-field for the go-ahead home run. It was Outman's fourth home run of the season.
Relievers Tyler Holton and Jacob Waguespack got the Tigers through the sixth and seventh innings before righty Drew Anderson allowed the tying run on a Josh Rojas RBI single in the eighth, scoring pinch runner Tyler Tolbert from third base. Reliever Kyle Finnegan got the save on a game-ending double play.
The Tigers continue their four-game series with the Royals on Friday, July 24, with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal taking the mound against a Royals pitcher yet to be determined.
Source: Yahoo Sports