Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals Pick & Prediction JULY 19th 2023
Mario DeLuca
Dairon Blanco will look to follow up a career night with a suitable encore on Wednesday when his Kansas City Royals play the third contest of their four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers.
Blanco recorded career highs in hits (four) and RBIs (three) during the Royals' 11-10 victory over the Tigers on Tuesday. He fell a homer shy of the cycle, although he admitted he tried to go deep in his last at-bat. The ball fell just inches short and Blanco had to settle for an RBI double.
"I was ready in that last at-bat to get it, but it just didn't happen," Blanco said via an interpreter, per Bally Sports Kansas City. "It was still a good at-bat, and I got an RBI."
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was pleased to see positive results from Blanco, who entered Tuesday's game batting just .188 on the season.
"Every one of the hits was important, and that's what stood out of me." Quatraro said. "... It's nice for him because I know he's been pressing a little bit to get some hits, to drive the ball a little bit. To see him do that was rewarding."
Kansas City's Ryan Yarbrough (2-4, 5.29 ERA) will take the mound on Wednesday night against Detroit's Eduardo Rodriguez (5-5, 2.70) in a battle of left-handers.
Yarbrough, 31, returned from a two-month absence after sustaining facial fractures to allow one run on six hits in six innings of a 4-1 victory at the Cleveland Guardians on July 9.
"I have an understanding of what happened and coming back from it and what could have been and how lucky and blessed I am," Yarbrough said. "It's just been great and the amount of support from the guys, especially after the game. It's been great."
Yarbrough is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) versus the Tigers.
He'd be wise to pitch carefully to Spencer Torkelson, who belted a two-run homer in the first inning and a three-run shot in the fifth on Tuesday. Torkelson, who leads the team with 14 homers this season, added a double in the seventh inning to cap a career-high 10-base performance.
"It feels good, but at the end of the day we came out with a loss. And it's a tough taste in your mouth," Torkelson told Bally Sports Detroit. "It feels good and we can definitely take some (good) things away from it."
Matt Vierling answered a 0-for-14 stretch with a two-run double in the eighth inning of the Tigers' 3-2 win over the Royals on Monday. He added two hits and three runs on Tuesday.
Rodriguez, 30, posted his first win since May 10 after permitting two runs on three hits in five innings of a 5-4 victory at the Seattle Mariners on Friday. He was making just his second start since being sidelined in June with a finger injury.
Rodriguez is 3-2 with a 4.31 ERA in nine career starts against Kansas City.
--Field Level Media
Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals Recap JUL 19TH 2023
Michael Lorenzen continued his string of scoreless pitching in July, and the Detroit Tigers backed him with enough offense to defeat the host Kanas City Royals, 3-0 on Thursday.
The Tigers took three of the four games, giving them a 5-2 record on this road trip.
The Tigers pieced together a rally with two out in the top of the second. Nick Maton singled to right and Akil Baddoo drew a rare walk off Royals starter Zack Greinke, who hasn't walked more than two batters in any of his 19 starts this season.
Detroit's Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Andy Ibanez and Eric Haase, then delivered back-to-back RBI singles to stake the Tigers to a 2-0 lead. Ibanez finished 2-for-4.
The Tigers cashed in another run in the fifth against Royals reliever Austin Cox when Zach McKinstry ripped a triple into right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Spencer Torkelson for a 3-0 lead.
Lorenzen (5-6) stretched his string of scoreless innings to 21 2/3 -- the longest current streak in the majors. He allowed just three hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out seven before being relieved by Tyler Holton. Jason Foley closed out the game for his fourth save. Tigers pitchers gave up just four hits on the day.
The longest scoreless innings streak this season is 29 2/3, logged by Nathan Eovaldi of the Texas Rangers in April and May.
The 39-year-old Greinke (1-10) was pulled after facing 17 hitters, charged with two runs on four hits, striking out one and walking two.
Kansas City now takes off on a road trip for three games each against the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians. The Tigers return home for three games against the San Diego Padres, one against the San Francisco Giants, and three at the Los Angeles Angels.
--Field Level Media