Royals fall as Tigers rally for win on a walk-off homer

At least the Royals didn’t have to wait through rain and play extra innings like they did the previous night in Boston.

That’s the only positive aspect of the way their series opener in Detroit ended. Jordy Mercer’s walk-off home run off reliever Richard Lovelady just got over the right-field wall to hand the Royals a 10-8 loss in front of an announced 17,197 at Comerica Park on Thursday night.

“Honestly, anytime we called fastball away I just kept leaving it up,” said Lovelady, who walked the leadoff batter in the ninth. “I couldn’t get it down. I couldn’t get it below the belt, obviously, and you know how it is up here. Good hitters are just going to take it and hit it the other way.”

Royals pitchers walked nine batters in the loss.

“Walks early. Walks in the middle. Walks late,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Nine walks. That’s not good for business.”

The teams will continue their four-game series on Friday night.

The Royals’ Hunter Dozier hit home runs in each of his first two at-bats to record his second multi-home run game of his career, the second in a week. That put him at 20 homers for the season. He drove in three runs Thursday.

Outfielder Alex Gordon, who’d been 1 for 22 on the road trip, hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Royals (41-75) their second lead of the night.

Royals catcher Nick Dini checked off several boxes, including his first start, first hit and first run scored in the majors.

Gordon’s three-run home run in the sixth inning allowed the Royals to leapfrog their hosts again and take an 8-7 lead on a 454-foot blast. However, Tigers outfielder Travis Demeritte’s home run in the seventh evened the score 8-8.

“I told (hitting coach) Terry Bradshaw, I said you guys have gone way above your expectations, but I need a run here in the eighth or the ninth,” Yost said. “I need to get my closer in the game. It just seems the last couple of opportunities we’ve had we just can’t get that one run when we really need it. We had it. Then (Josh) Staumont, who had two pretty darn good innings, hung a curveball and there goes your run.”

Royals right-hander Jorge Lopez’s first start since May 25 did not give rise to any campaigns to re-insert him into the starting rotation. Lopez retired the side in order in the first, but then faced eight batters and recorded just one out in the second inning.

While one of the batters reached via a Whit Merrifield throwing error, Lopez gave up a three-run homer and walked three — including one with the bases loaded to force in a run. He left with one out in the second inning and the bases loaded and the Tigers (34-78) leading 4-2 after they’d trailed 2-0 through the first inning.

Kevin McCarthy took over for the Royals on the mound and walked the first batter he faced, which forced in a fifth run (charged to Lopez). McCarthy got out of the inning without giving up anything else, and the Royals were down 5-2 heading into the third.

The Royals answered with a three-run third inning which included Dozier’s second home run of the night as well as a game-tying homer by Cheslor Cuthbert.

Dozier’s first home run came on the first pitch of the at-bat, and the second on the second pitch.

“I was a little more passive in Boston, and I let some good pitches go by,” Dozier said. “I ended up having a good series, but I felt like I let some good pitches go by where I could do some damage. I just wanted to get back to being a little bit more aggressive.”

The score didn’t stay 5-5 for long. The Tigers scored against Royals reliever Kyle Zimmer in the bottom of the third and the fourth.

Zimmer’s outing started with three consecutive walks, though he got out of the third with just one run allowed. Miguel Cabrera hit a solo homer off him to start the fourth as the Tigers pulled in front 7-5 before Gordon’s three-run home run in the sixth.

Tigers 10, Royals 8

One out when winning run scored.

1-ran for Jones in the 2nd.

E—Merrifield 2 (9). LOB—Kansas City 4, Detroit 10. 2B—Merrifield (32), Lopez (14). 3B—Reyes (2). HR—Dozier (19), off Boyd; Dozier (20), off Boyd; Cuthbert (8), off Boyd; Gordon (12), off Cisnero; Castro (3), off Lopez; Cabrera (8), off Zimmer; Demeritte (1), off Staumont; Mercer (6), off Lovelady. RBIs—Gordon 3 (63), Dozier 3 (63), Cuthbert 2 (31), Goodrum (42), Cabrera 2 (45), Castro 3 (24), Demeritte (4), Mercer 2 (11), Reyes (5). S—Rogers.

Runners left in scoring position—Kansas City 1 (Lopez); Detroit 5 (Goodrum 3, Lugo 2). RISP—Kansas City 3 for 8; Detroit 2 for 11.

Runners moved up—Mercer.

Inherited runners-scored—McCarthy 3-1, Newberry 1-0, Hall 1-0, Cisnero 2-2. HBP—Lopez (Jones). WP—Lopez.

Umpires—Home, Hunter Wendelstedt; First, Laz Diaz; Second, Vic Carapazza; Third, Jeremie Rehak.

T—3:37. A—17,197 (41,297).

This story was originally published August 8, 2019 at 10:04 PM.