 gave up two hits in five innings. He was 0-4 in four starts and four relief appearances since a June 16 triumph over Tampa Bay. He was removed after 54 pitches with a tender groin.''It got to the point where it really bothered me on every pitch,'' Norris said. ''That's why they took me out. I didn't want to come out. I didn't know if I kept going what would happen. Anytime I tried to throw hard, my groin would hurt. I was just trying to take off and throw strikes. It was good to see I could be more efficient, without just trying to be nasty.'' The Tigers had been outscored 68-39 in their losing streak, which was their longest since dropping nine straight Sept. 1-9, 2005.Nicholas Castellanos' fifth-inning double with the bases loaded scored Alex Presley, JaCoby Jones and Dixon Machado.''I was just thinking like `Nick, don't strike out here. Don't do that.' Just try to stay short and early and hit something hard,'' Castellanos said.Jones singled home Andrew Romine with the first run of the inning.Royals left-hander Danny Duffy (9-10) did not make it through the inning. Duffy was charged with four runs, six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. Duffy, who was the Royals' opening day starter, finishes the season with a 3.81 ERA in 24 starts.''I just wasn't locating very well in the fifth,'' Duffy said. ''I hold myself to a standard and walks are just not acceptable and I had three of them today. One of them came back to bite me.'' Duffy has been bothered by an elbow injury this season.''I'm excited to get this thing fixed and not deal with it next year,'' Duffy said.Paulo Orlando led off the Kansas City sixth with a home run off Warwick Saupold. Orlando has homered in back-to-back games after going 117 at-bats without going deep.Orlando also doubled in the third and had two of the five Kansas City hits.''About the only offense,'' Yost said came from Orlando. ''We got five hits. We didn't generate a whole lot of offense.'' Relievers Daniel Stump, Drew VerHagen and Shane Greene held the Royals scoreless over the final three innings. Greene picked up his eighth save in 12 opportunities, but not before giving up a single and a walk.''The bullpen did a nice job,'' Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. ''Other than the home run off Saupold by Orlando, they held the lead, and it kind of came together for us.'' IT'S A GO FOR ROMINEWith the Twins clinching a playoff berth, Ausmus said, ''it's probably going to happen,'' that Romine will play all nine positions in the season finale at Minnesota. ''I haven't drawn out a map, and I probably won't until Saturday,'' Ausmus said. ''Catcher and pitcher it'll probably just be one hitter.'' TRAINER'S ROOMTigers: 3B Jeimer Candelario was held out of the lineup with a sore left wrist. The switch-hitting Candelario said it bothers him when he swings right-handed, but not left-handed. ... RHP Jeff Ferrell still has not cleared the concussion protocol procedure. He has not pitched since Sept. 18.Royals: C Salvador Perez left after three innings with left groin tightness. Drew Butera replaced him. ''His groin has been sore, been bothering him about the last two weeks,'' Yost said. ''It just kind of got worse.'' UP NEXTTigers: LHP Matthew Boyd will start the series opener at Minnesota. He is 5-1 with a 3.55 ERA in 10 career starts against the Twins. RHP Kyle Gibson will be the Twins starter.Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy, who is winless in a club-record 18 consecutive home starts, will start Friday against the Diamondbacks. RHP Zack Greinke, who began his career with Kansas City, will start for Arizona.)
Royals aim to send Tigers to 10th straight loss 31m ago• 3 min read KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Detroit Tigers are stumbling to the finish line.The Tigers, who have lost nine straight, face the Kansas City Royals on Thursday in the finale of this three-game series.The previous time the Tigers lost nine consecutive games was Sept. 1-9, 2005, and a loss on Thursday would produce Detroit's first double-digit losing streak since Aug. 13-23, 2003."It's not fun," said outfielder Alex Presley, who had three hits and walked in the Tigers' 7-4 loss to the Royals on Wednesday. "Winning makes everything more fun, obviously, but you've got to try to keep your head together, like I said. Play like it's tied, no matter what the score."Don't give away at-bats. Keep grinding and finish strong. We play to win, even if things aren't looking good, still play to win and everything else will just kind of iron itself out for you." The Tigers will start left-hander Daniel Norris in the series finale. Norris is 4-8 with a 5.59 ERA in 21 games, 17 of them starts, this season for Detroit. He went 0-4 with a 12.21 ERA in six starts with Triple-A Toledo."He's a perfectionist," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "He wants every pitch he throws to be the nastiest he's ever thrown." In his latest start, Norris gave up five runs on seven hits and one walk in 4 2/3 innings in a loss against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.Norris will be making his seventh career start against Kansas City. He is 0-2 with a 4.78 ERA against the Royals, striking out 23 in 32 innings.He is 0-1 with an 8.33 ERA in two appearances this year against the Royals. Norris is 0-0 with a 4.67 ERA in three career starts at Kauffman Stadium, fanning 13 in 17 1/3 innings.Kansas City shortstop Alcides Escobar has a .571 average (8-for-14) with a home run and three RBIs against Norris. Alex Gordon is 5-for-9 (.556), while Eric Hosmer is only 2-for-15 (.133) vs. the left-hander.The Royals will send left-hander Danny Duffy to the mound Thursday for his final start of the season. It will be his 24th start, as he missed time on the disabled list. He also was charged with DUI last month.Duffy (9-9, 3.68 ERA) is 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in two starts this season against the Tigers, allowing five earned runs in 11 1/3 innings. He is 7-7 with a 3.86 ERA in his career against Detroit.Duffy is 4-4 with a 3.12 ERA in nine home starts this season. He has a 3.41 ERA over the past two seasons at Kauffman Stadium.He last pitched Saturday, when he allowed two runs on eight hits in six innings of an 8-2 road win against the Chicago White Sox."Tonight, we were able to make some pitches in some tough spots, and my changeup was really working for me tonight, and everything felt great," Duffy said Saturday. "I just felt like I was in rhythm." The Royals are 11-7 against the Tigers this season, winning eight of the past nine."We've seen these guys so many times," Ausmus said. "The bulk of their lineup we've seen for a number of years. There's not a lot of secrets between the two teams." Left-hander Mike Minor was summoned to get the final two outs to preserve the lead Wednesday after Brandon Maurer gave up a couple of hits. Minor, who earned a save in a fourth consecutive appearance, has replaced Kelvin Herrera as the Royals' closer."I think anybody would want that role," Minor said.If the Royals need a save Thursday, Minor likely would get the call.
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