advertisement

Tigers overpower Royals, 7-1

DETROIT — Delmon Young homered for the fourth consecutive game, Prince Fielder hit a three-run shot and Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in three runs in the Detroit Tigers 7-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday to complete a sweep of the three-game weekend series.

The power display backed Max Scherzer (8-5), who allowed a run and five hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out seven.

It was the Tigers’ season-high fifth-straight win and put them two games over .500 — heading into the All-Star break — for the first time since April 25 (10-8).

Phil Coke pitched a perfect eighth and Octavio Dotel worked a perfect ninth.

Peralta was 3-for-4 with two doubles.

Salvador Perez homered for Kansas City.

Royals’ starter Everett Teaford (1-2) took the loss. He allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked a batter and struck out five.

Peralta’s two-out, two-run homer in the second inning gave Detroit a 2-0 lead. His towering drive down the left-field line and into the stands came on Teaford’s 0-1 pitch and followed Brennan Boesch’s single. It was Peralta’s fifth home run.

Perez cut the lead in half for Kansas City with his fourth homer, leading off the third. A right-handed batter, Perez lined Scherzer’s 1-0 pitch over the right-field fence and into the stands.

Young’s 10th home run, leading off the fourth made it 3-1. He lined Teaford’s 2-2 pitch into the shrubbery beyond the right-centerfield fence, an estimated 433 feet away.

Kansas City threatened with runners on second and third with two out in the fifth on a leadoff single by Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon’s two-out double that sent Francoueur to third. But Scherzer got Alcides Escobar swinging to end the inning.

Fielder’s three-run homer in the fifth broke the game open, giving the Tigers a 6-1 lead.

He greeted reliever Tim Collins by launching his first pitch halfway up the right-field stands, an estimated 417 feet away. It also scored Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry, who led off the inning with singles.

It was the 15th homer for Fielder — his third in four games — who was voted the A.L. starter at first base by the fans for Tuesday night’s All-Star game in Kansas City. He will also participate in Monday night’s Home Run Derby. Fielder is batting .299 and has 63 RBIs.

Peralta doubled in a run in the eighth.

NOTE: Also representing Detroit in the All-Star Game will be third baseman Miguel Cabrera (. 324, 18 home runs and 71 RBIs) and Justin Verlander (9-5, 2.58). Designated hitter Billy Butler (.290, 16 HR, 52 RBIs) will be the Royals’ only representative in Tuesday night’s game at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. . Jackson (1-for-5) extended his hitting streak to a career high 15 games (26-for-65, .400).

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.