Royals mauled and left for dead by Tigers

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The Tigers, 52-49, moved three games above .500 for the first time and remained 5 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the American League Central Division.

Greinke fell to 7-7 after allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings. Horacio Ramirez surrendered two runs in the seventh.

A no-hitter loomed as a real possibility when Galarraga blew through the first six innings by retiring all 18 hitters in just 64 pitches. Only two balls left the infield.

“I’d never been no-hit in my life before this season,” Gordon said. “And to have it done twice in a season, I was thinking, ‘We can’t let this happen.’ I was glad to see Dave get us going.”

Esteban German then drew a one-out walk, and José Guillen followed with an RBI single up the middle. Guillen’s RBI was his first since July 10 and only his second since a three-RBI burst on July 3.

The Royals loaded the bases on a single by Gordon, but Galarraga avoided further damage by striking out Mark Teahen and retiring Miguel Olivo on a fly to center.

Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan had been the only opponent to pitch a no-hitter against the Royals until May 19, when Boston’s Jon Lester did it in a 7-0 victory at Fenway Park. Ryan’s no-hitter was May 15, 1973, at then-Royals Stadium.

“It was good that we got (a hit),” DeJesus said. “We didn’t want to have that happen again, that whole thing — being on ‘SportsCenter’ and all of that (stuff).”

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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