 settled down nicely after a tough first inning. He allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings.Miguel Cabrera hit an RBI single in the first, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead before Lopez had gotten an out. Another run came home when Ronny Rodriguez grounded into a force play, and Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, sliding in safely on a close play at the plate.Rodriguez added an RBI double in the third, and Boyd kept the Royals off the scoreboard until the fourth, when Soler hit a sacrifice fly and Kelvin Gutierrez followed with a run-scoring triple.Boyd (3-2) worked out of that jam with back-to-back strikeouts, and the Tigers held on from there to improve to 4-0 on the season against Kansas City.Cabrera had three singles for Detroit.TRAINER'S ROOMTigers: Detroit is without 2B Josh Harrison, who is on the injured list with a left shoulder issue. Gordon Beckham started at that position and had two hits.UP NEXTRoyals: Kansas City sends RHP Homer Bailey (2-3) to the mound Saturday against the Tigers. Bailey turned 33 on Friday.Tigers: Detroit RHP Tyson Ross (1-3) was activated from the paternity list Friday and will start Saturday's game.---Follow Noah Trister at www. Twitter.com/noahtrister---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Power-starved Tigers open homestand vs. Royals The Detroit Tigers have searched for offensive answers for more than a month. They hope to find some in a familiar place.Detroit plays 16 of its next 20 games at Comerica Park, beginning with a weekend series against Kansas City. Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd will oppose Royals right-hander Jorge Lopez in the Friday night opener.Entering the long stretch of home games, Detroit is just two games below .500 despite being the only American League team to score fewer than 100 runs. The Tigers also rank last in the majors with 21 home runs.A 7-3 loss at Philadelphia in the series finale Wednesday was the Tigers' fifth defeat over their last six games. Detroit beat the Phillies 3-1 on Tuesday.Closer Shane Greene has saved 12 of the Tigers' 13 wins, and all of the team's victories have been decided by three or fewer runs."You're in a close game every game," Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire recently told reporters. "Doesn't seem like we ever have one of these where we take a big lead, so we end up using the same (relievers) every game. We've got to figure out a way to score a few more runs and get a more comfortable lead." Nicholas Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera and Jeimer Candelario, the three players Gardenhire relies upon for consistent thunder, haven't yet found their power strokes. They have combined for three homers and 24 RBIs.Gardenhire believes once when that trio heats up, his team can make some noise in the American League Central."I like the way we're playing. I like what we're trying to do here," he said. "I think we're moving forward, we just need to score a few more runs." The Tigers have lost three starting pitchers since late in spring training to injuries, including season-ending issues for Michael Fulmer and Matt Moore. Boyd (2-2, 3.13 ERA) was thrust into the role of ace, and he has delivered five consecutive quality starts.In his latest outing, Boyd was a tough-luck loser, allowing just two runs in six innings and striking out nine against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Boyd is 3-7 with a 6.65 ERA in 14 career starts against the Royals.Lopez (0-2, 5.08 ERA) lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his latest start while giving up four runs against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. His best start of the season came at Detroit on April 6, when he held the Tigers to two runs (one earned) in six innings.He is 0-1 with a 10.29 ERA in two career starts against Detroit.The Royals didn't have much pop in their lineup on Thursday, as they were held to five hits in a 3-1 loss to visiting Tampa Bay. Kansas City swept the Rays in a doubleheader on Wednesday.Rookie third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez went 0-for-4 on Thursday, but Kansas City manager Ned Yost wants to keep him in the lineup. Gutierrez is batting .273 with a homer and seven RBIs in his first six games.Former third baseman Hunter Dozier has played designated hitter and first base since Gutierrez's arrival last weekend."Gutierrez, Dozier and (Adalberto Mondesi) are the three hottest hitters we got, so I'm not taking him out of the lineup," Yost told the Kansas City Star.Second baseman Whit Merrifield had two hits and the Royals' lone RBI on Thursday while serving as the designated hitter."Whit needed a DH day," Yost said to the Star. "Mondi's going to need a DH day. (Alex Gordon) down the road is going to need a DH day, even though he had the second game off yesterday and the rest of the guys didn't. In order to move the DH around, I have to make adjustments." --Field Level Media
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