Justin Verlander helps Detroit Tigers thrash Kansas City Royals 6-2 – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers broke their losing streak in an emphatic style as they crushed the Kansas City Royals 6-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Monday, September 24.
Tigers’ starting pitcher and reigning MVP Justin Verlander produced another magical performance as he gave up just two runs on nine hits in eight innings to grab his 16th win of the season.
Striking-out eight batters, he used his fastballs and sliders to great effect. Relief pitcher Jose Valverde pitched the perfect ninth to ensure Tigers reach home safely.
"With a guy on third and the ball coming back on the ground, I've got to try to stop it," Verlander said. "So I went down to get it, and my body just wasn't prepared for that. All my weight landed on my left arm, and just kind of jarred my shoulder a little
bit. I felt it for a little bit and then it went away."
"We had a couple good at-bats against him, but he was extremely good tonight. You just need to get lucky when he's going that well, and we didn't,” Royals’ manager Ned Yost said of Verlander.
First baseman Prince Fielder also had a great outing as he homered to right in the second inning to put Tigers on the board. Alex Avila doubled Tigers’ lead 2-0 with a double to deep right centre.
Omar Infante and Avila scored on Austin Jackson’s hit in the fifth and Andy Dirks hit a sacrifice fly to centre in the sixth to stretch Tigers’ lead to 5-1.
Dirks earned another RBI single to left centre in the eighth to deny Royals any chance of coming back into the contest.
After losing their previous series against the Minnesota Twins, Tigers needed to find their winning ways to stay in the playoff race and that is exactly what they did on Monday. Credit should be given to Manager Jim Leyland for keeping his players focused
even under immense pressure.
It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can win their remaining games of the season to win their second straight American League Central Division title.
The Royals will be disappointed with their poor performance as the Tigers dominated them throughout the game for a decisive victory.
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