Detroit Tigers edge past Kansas City Royals 5-4 – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers continued to impress the critics as they edged past the Kansas City Royals 5-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday, September 26 in second game of their three match series.
Tigers shut-out their American League Central Division rivals 2-0 in the series opener and they continued to play aggressively in Game 2 to take an impassable 2-0 series lead. With their win in the finale, the Tigers moved one game ahead of the second placed
Chicago White Sox at the top of AL Central standings table.
It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can win their remaining games to claim their second straight league title.
Andy Dirks provided Tigers with an excellent start he singled to centre in the second inning to put his side on the board. Alex Gordon, Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur drove in crucial runs to help Royals come back from behind for a vital 4-3 lead.
"I was just trying to break up the double play and try to get a piece of him any way I could to help us score that run," Dirks said with a smile on his face. "That's just kind of the way you play baseball."
However, Jim Leyland and company were not prepared to give up. Alex Avila connected for a two run home-run to right centre in the fourth inning and Austin Jackson homered to left centre to level the score 4-4.
Jhonny Peralta delivered the tie breaking run in the eighth as he grounded into fielder’s choice to third in the eighth. Closer Jose Valverde pitched the perfect ninth as Tigers held on to their one run lead.
"Peralta was slow getting out of the box, so that's an easy double play," Royals’ Mike Moustakas said in a post game interview. "I'm always going to go to second on that play, but Dirks did a heck of a job to break it up."
Starting pitcher Rick Porcello had a decent outing as he gave up just four runs in four innings while striking-out three batters. Relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit grabbed his fourth win of the season.
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