Royals, Jorge Lopez doomed by slow start against the Tigers

Royals starting pitcher Jorge Lopez must have left a lasting impression on the Detroit Tigers when he faced them last month, because they seemed to remember how they’d been chewed up and were bound and determined to rewrite that script on Friday night.

Lopez gave up four runs in the first three innings, and the Tigers’ pitching staff made that enough as the Royals dropped the opener of their three-game series 4-3 to the Tigers in front of an announced 14,020 at Comerica Park.

Jorge Soler’s ninth-inning home run and Ryan O’Hearn’s pinch-hit double for the Royals added intrigue to the end of the game, but Tigers closer Shane Green got catcher Martin Maldonado to pop out to end the game with the tying run on second base as Greene secured his 13th save of the season.

“Should have been a lot more exciting game because our video replay showed that guy was out at the plate by a foot,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of a first-inning play at the plate. “I don’t know what’s going on in New York. That was a no-brainer. (Replay coordinator) Billy (Duplissea) was very confident. I just looked at the video myself and he was out by a foot. When it takes that long, you’re thinking, ‘What are they looking at? What are they doing?’ Hopefully we get an explanation for that (Saturday).”

Lopez didn’t factor into the decision the last time he started against the Tigers, but he held them to one earned run in six innings of work. That night Lopez fell victim to a bullpen breakdown that included Kevin McCarthy giving up three runs in 1/3 inning and Wily Peralta giving up a game-changing grand slam.

Friday, Lopez got himself on track by having better balance and finding a better feel for his fastball.

“I (executed) my fastball a little better,” Lopez said. “I struggled in the first inning with my fastball, which is a pitch that sets everything, my off-speed pitches.”

This time around the Tigers came ready to attack Lopez, and they started immediately with a three-run first inning that included each of the first three batters reaching base safely. Miguel Cabrera’s RBI single drove in the first run. An ground-out by Ronnie Rodriguez drove in the second run. And a wild pitch with a runner on third allowed the third run to score (where the close call at the plate stood after a replay review).

“I really feel that I had it because when I stepped with my left foot to home plate I felt like I put that foot in front of home plate and gave the tag,” Lopez said. “It was a really close play. I thought I had it. Just that second I put my feet on the plate, he hit me with his cleat. I felt like it was a really close play. They got the challenge and it was safe, so.”

The Tigers made Lopez pay for a leadoff walk to Nicholas Castellanos in the third inning. Rodriguez swatted an RBI double for the fourth run.

Of the six hits Lopez gave up, five came in the first and third innings. He struck out six, walked two and allowed four runs in his seven innings. He retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.

“It’s not frustrating or encouraging,” Yost said of Lopez’s outing. “I expect him to compete. I expect him, that if he had a little rough first inning that he’ll come in and make a little adjustment, and settle in.”

Falling behind 4-0 against a pitcher that hadn’t allowed three earned runs in any of his six previous starts this season didn’t bode well. Tigers starter Matthew Boyd took that head start and ran with it, pumping quality strikes into the zone throughout his seven innings. He threw 102 pitches, 77 strikes.

Boyd struck out nine and allowed five hits and a walk before handing it over to a bullpen that included the most-dominant closer in the American League through the first month of the season.

The Royals scored two fourth-inning runs even though they had a golden opportunity to add another in that inning.

Alex Gordon, who got hit by a pitch for the eighth time this season, went first-to-third on a Hunter Dozier single with no outs and scored on a sacrifice fly by Soler to assure the Royals wouldn’t suffer their first shutout of the season.

Kelvin Gutierrez’s RBI triple to center field made it a two-run game, 4-2, with one out and a runner on third. But Chris Owings and Maldonado failed to put the ball in play, as both struck out swinging to strand the runner on third.

The score remained 4-2 going into the ninth and the Tigers called upon closer Greene. Greene entered the night with the second-most saves (12) in Major League Baseball and had converted 12 save opportunities (where the Tigers had 13 wins). He’d given up two runs in 14 innings, and struck out 17 compared to just three walks.

This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 8:58 PM.