Royals rally to beat high-powered, highly paid Tigers
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
DETROIT | There’s never a script for these things, but opening day 2008 couldn’t have turned out much better for the Royals.
A come-from-behind victory. In extra innings. On the road against the much-hyped Detroit Tigers and their new muscle-beach attack. And yet there was so much more behind Monday’s 5-4 triumph in 11 innings at sold-out Comerica Park.
The Royals pulled off lots of little-ball successes to delight new manager Trey Hillman, got solid pitching from Gil Meche and the bullpen, produced some nifty glove work when it mattered most and witnessed a star turn by third baseman Alex Gordon.
“It’s nice to have one like this right out of the chute,” said Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, who had three hits and reached base five times.
“The skipper gets his first win in the majors. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Tony Peña delivered the winning blow with a two-out RBI single against former Royal Denny Bautista on a little looper that floated softly into center field while John Buck raced home from second base.
“That was a heck of an at-bat right there,” designated hitter Billy Butler said. “Tony battled and battled and battled. The next thing you know, he got a hit.”
Peña’s single came after Mark Teahen was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Brandon Inge. Teahen tried to score from second on Buck’s single. Buck took second on the throw home.
“I’ve faced (Bautista) in winter ball,” said Peña, who fouled off three 1-2 pitches. “I know he throws hard and is tough to hit. I was just looking to put the ball in play. Luckily, I got it to drop in there.”
Sure, it got tense in the Detroit half of the 11th when Clete Thomas led off with a double against Joakim Soria. But the Royals escaped when Gordon made a sparkling play on Placido Polanco’s sharp two-out grounder.
“Great play by Alex,” Peña gushed. “Polanco likes to go the other way, so I knew Alex was shaded that way. I knew he was going to have a shot to make that play.”
It was the first ball hit all game to Gordon, who made a diving stop before springing to his feet for a strong throw that easily beat Polanco while simultaneously silencing the record Comerica crowd of 44,934.
The defensive gem came after Gordon helped the Royals erase a 3-0 deficit against Detroit ace and archnemesis Justin Verlander by hammering a two-run homer in the sixth.
“This guy is a big-time player waiting to happen,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “He’s got a tremendous swing. I think he’ll be a star in this league before it’s over with.”
Detroit created an offseason stir by boosting its payroll to $138 million in part through adding third baseman Miguel Cabrera and shortstop Edgar Renteria to an already-potent lineup.
The two additions helped the Tigers build a 3-0 lead though five innings. Renteria had an RBI single in the second, and Cabrera unloaded a leadoff homer in the fifth.
But Meche minimized damage by stranding eight runners in the first four innings. He registered a “quality start” by limiting the Tigers to three runs in six innings.
“Gil kept us in it like he always does,” Grudzielanek said. “We’ve come to expect that from him. That’s what he does. He keeps you in ballgames. That allowed us to battle back.”
Right fielder José Guillen went hitless in five at-bats in his Royals debut but saved a run in the third by throwing out Magglio Ordoñez at the plate.
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To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4352 or send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com
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