Bobby Witt Jr. reaches the 20-homer, 20-steal plateau in KC Royals’ 12-2 rout of Tigers
Kansas City Royals rookie Bobby Witt Jr. put himself in rare company with a third-inning home run on Saturday evening in Detroit.
The young phenom infielder became just the fifth player in franchise history with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season, and just the second rookie along with Carlos Beltran.
Beltran was still a rookie in 1999 when he reached that plateau, but he made his debut the previous season.
Thus, Witt, who debuted on opening day this season, became the first Royal to reach that mark in his first year in the majors.
Witt entered the day with 19 home runs, tied with Salvador Perez for the team lead, and with a team-high 26 stolen bases.
In the third inning with two men on against Tigers right-hander Michael Pineda, Witt smoked a 3-2 fastball 418 feet over the left-center field wall at Comerica Park in Detroit.
That three-run homer gave the Royals the lead and marked Witt’s 20th homer of the season. It was all part of an offensive onslaught unleashed by the Royals in a 12-2 win over the Tigers in front of an announced 15,259 in the second game of a three-game series at Comerica Park in Detroit.
Four Royals rookies hit home runs, including a grand slam by Kyle Isbel — the first of the season for the Royals and the first of Isbel’s major-league career — as they snapped a three-game losing slide despite Perez sitting out the game after he was hit on the hand during Friday night’s game.
Witt also became the 21st player in MLB history to reach the 20/20 mark at age 22 or younger.
Royals rookies Nick Pratto (2 for 4, walk, two runs scored) and MJ Melendez (2 for 4, walk, two runs scored) joined Witt (1 for 5) and Isbel (1 for 4, four RBIs) by smacking home runs. The Royals (54-80) have an MLB-high 62 home runs hit by rookies this season.
All nine starting position players for the Royals had at least one hit and scored at least once. They scored in six of the first seven innings, including five consecutive innings (second through seventh).
The Royals also hit four home runs in a game for the second time in a week, though Saturday marked the first time they had four home runs by four different rookies in a game.
Rookie outfielder Nate Eaton (4 for 5, double, triple, two RBIs) registered the first four-hit game in the majors.
Royals starting pitcher Jonathan Heasley pitched seven full innings for just the second time in the majors this season.
Heasley (3-7) allowed two runs on eight hits, including one home run, and two walks, and he struck out two in his first quality start since July 4.
Pratto’s seventh home run of the season — his fourth in his last eight games — came in the first inning and gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers (51-82) tied the score in the bottom of the second on a Ryan Kreidler sacrifice fly.
Witt’s homer in the third put the Royals ahead 4-1, and they never turned back.
Witt entered Saturday ranked first among all rookies in extra-base hits (47), steals (26) and RBIs (tied, 66), as well as second in home runs, doubles (tied, 22) and runs (tied, 67) and third in hits (118).
They added a run in the fifth on a Melendez RBI single. Then Isbel lined a grand slam over the right field wall in the fifth to give the Royals a 9-1 advantage.
Tigers catcher Tucker Barnhart hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to make it 9-2, but the Royals scored the game’s final three runs in the seventh inning.
Melendez hit a solo homer in the seventh, and Eaton roped a two-run double to close the scoring.
This story was originally published September 3, 2022 at 6:39 PM.
