It was the Victor Martinez and Ian Kinsler show as the Detroit Tigers won 8-6 over the Kansas City Royals, but it took until the bottom of the ninth inning. Martinez went 2-for-4 with five RBI, while Kinsler went 2-for-5 with three RBI in the winning contest for Detroit.
Anibal Sanchez toed the slab for the Tigers on Thursday, but was roughed around early. Luckily for Detroit, the offense picked up the slack and saved Sanchez from a potential loss.
The early runs for Kansas City were provided in the second inning by former Tiger Omar Infante and Alex Rios. Sanchez allowed Eric Hosmer, Kendrys Morales and Mike Moustakas to reach base before walking Rios, which allowed Hosmer to trot in for the games first run.
Later in the inning, Infante singled to center, which drove in both Morales and Moustakas.
In eight seasons with Detroit, Infante hit .266/.305/.399 with 46 home runs and 225 RBI. The infielder made the jump to the Royals in 2014 and has hit .243/.274/.329 with seven home runs and 95 RBI over the two seasons in Kansas City.
The Tigers struck for the first time in the third inning. Kinsler grounded out into a fielder's choice, but it was enough to plate Alex Avila. Due up was Victor Martinez, who had the opportunity to cure a rough patch in his season. The switch-hitting designated hitter hit a three-run shot to right center to give the Tigers a one run lead.
The next run on the board came from a designated hitter. It was not Morales, but it was Martinez, again. The veteran trucked a home run to right field that traveled 423 feet. His second homer of the game was a two-run shot to give the Tigers a 6-3 lead.
It was the first multi-homer game for Martinez since he played for the Boston Red Sox in 2010. He had not hit a home run in a Tigers uniform since July 17.
With none on base and none out in the seventh inning, back-up catcher Drew Butera hit his first home run of the season for the Royals. It was the home run that chased Sanchez from the game.
The right-handed pitcher finished just six innings of work. Sanchez gave up four runs on five hits and four walks. His command was off at times, but he was still able to rack up six strikeouts. Sanchez has a 4.82 ERA for the "Old English D" this season.
After Sanchez was chased from the game, Morales, the Royals designated hitter, doubled to left. That was the game-tying hit to help swing the momentum to the Royals.
Kinsler finished the game in an outstanding way. It was the best way any player would want to end a game. Kinsler hit a walk-off home run to take two-of-three from the Royals. It was a 2-0 count and a fastball was offered by Ryan Madson, who took the loss, and it was crushed into the left field bullpen.
"I don't know where that pitch ended up," Madson said. "It was supposed to be a sinker, but it wasn't where I wanted it."
On a side note, the game was delayed for a few minutes in the eighth inning when a squirrel ran around the field with the Tigers at the dish.
"I didn't want any part of that squirrel," said Rajai Davis, who got a close with it near third base. "I just tried to stay still and not draw any attention to myself."
The Tigers are now 53-55 and are looking to make a major push to claim an American League Wild Card spot, unless they can catch the Royals, who are 63-44 on the season. However, the probability of the Tigers catching the Royals is very unlikely. Detroit has four teams between themselves and the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League Wild Card.
"We're not that far out, and we know we've got a lot of games to play," Kinsler said. "No one in this room thinks this season is over."
The Tigers have a chip on their shoulder, but are looking to make a comeback for the ages. Without David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, Joakim Soria and former GM Dave Dombrowski, the team has something to prove.
"Absolutely," Alex Wilson said after the win. "You've got a bunch of guys in this clubhouse who were told that they didn't belong in a pennant race, and we're out to prove something. Not our big guys, obviously, but a lot of us."