Royals’ 7-5 loss to the Tigers ended with a replay review that didn’t go KC’s way
Four Royals errors led to three unearned runs Tuesday that cost Kansas City in its 7-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.
Three of those errors came in the seventh inning as the Tigers scored four runs and broke a 3-3 tie. The Royals scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to two. In the ninth, catcher MJ Melendez hit a one-out double and moved to third when shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. grounded out sharply on a ball that had an exit velocity of 109.8 mph.
Andrew Benintendi stepped to the plate and looked to extend the game with a hit or possibly a game-tying home run. Instead, he hit a scorching grounder ( with a 98.8 mph exit velocity) that Tigers shortstop Javier Baez snagged. Baez did not get a lot on the throw to first, which barely beat Benintendi.
But was Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s foot on the bag when the ball hit the back of his glove? Royals manager Mike Matheny asked umpires to review the play.
Unfortunately for the Royals, the umpires couldn’t find reason to overturn the call, and while it wasn’t confirmed, it stood as the final out of the game.
Here’s the replay review.
