Tigers sweep Royals with epic 9th-inning rally for 10-9 win

It was nearly a win for the Royals.

In the seventh inning, the Royals scored six runs off three pitchers: right-hander Keider Montero, right-handed reliever Drew Anderson and left-handed reliever Tyler Holton.

The swing that made the biggest impact?

It came from Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez, who won a 10-pitch battle with Holton by launching a down-and-in changeup for a three-run home run to left field.

The homer put the Royals ahead, 8-6.

Prior to the meltdown, the Tigers controlled all of the momentum by scoring five runs across the fourth and fifth innings.

In the fifth inning, Jones increased the Tigers' lead to 4-1 with a two-out single off Bubic's fastball at the bottom of the strike zone. (Before that, Gleyber Torres made it 3-1 with an RBI double.)

The swing meant more than just one run.

The single from Jones chased Bubic, forcing the Royals to turn to right-handed reliever John Schreiber (Gibralter Carlson) with a two outs and a runner on first base. Dillon Dingler responded to the pitching change by destroying Schreiber's middle-middle sweeper for a two-run home run for a 6-1 lead.

It was Dingler's fourth homer in 16 games, putting him on pace for 34 homers this season.

Bubic allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts across 4⅔ innings, throwing 82 pitches, while Schreiber was responsible for one run out of the bullpen.

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The Tigers scored their first two runs on Spencer Torkelson's RBI double in the first inning and Matt Vierling's RBI single in the fourth inning. All five run-scoring hits came from batters who perform significantly better against lefties than righties: Torkelson, Vierling, Torres, Jones and Dingler.

For Jones, it was his first hit of the season.

He took a step in the right direction with his RBI single for a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, but not before grounding into a double play in the first inning and striking out in the fourth inning.

For the Tigers, Montero allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts across 4⅔ innings, throwing 83 pitches. He retired all three batters in the first inning, including swinging strikeouts of Bobby Witt Jr. (on a slider) and Vinnie Pasquantino (on a changeup).

Something else special happened in the first inning.

Third baseman Kevin McGonigle made a phenomenal play to take an infield single away from leadoff hitter Maikel Garcia, who features above-average speed. He ranged into foul territory, fielded the ball with a backhanded pick and fired a clean throw to first base.

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The Royals tied the game, 1-1, in the fourth inning on Carter Jensen's RBI single, trimmed their deficit to 6-2 in the sixth inning on Perez's sacrifice fly – and then exploded for a six-run seventh inning, taking an 8-6 lead.

Montero owns a 3.97 ERA over 16⅓ innings in three starts.

The six-run seventh inning began with Montero giving up a double to Jonathan India and an RBI single to Jac Caglianone, followed by Anderson walking Lane Thomas and giving up RBI singles to Garcia and Witt. Finally, Perez provided a three-run swing with his homer off Holton, followed by a rain delay.

It was another rough outing for Anderson.

The Tigers signed him to a one-year, $7 million contract after four seasons in Asia, but he has a 7.20 ERA with seven walks and nine strikeouts across 10 innings in six relief appearances.

In the eighth inning, the Tigers trimmed their deficit to 8-7 when McGonigle tripled and scored on pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter's sacrifice fly – only for the Royals to separate again for a 9-7 lead with Pasquantino's home run off right-handed reliever Connor Seabold.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sweep Kansas City Royals with 3-run 9th-inning rally