The Kansas City Royals’ offense seemed destined for a day of almosts, could-have-beens and missed opportunities. But the club’s budding star, Bobby Witt Jr., delivered in a pivotal moment to lift the Royals to victory on Sunday.
Witt’s go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning provided the margin of victory as the Royals earned a 3-2 series-clinching win over the Detroit Tigers in front of an announced 15,206 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
The Royals (55-80) won their first road series since July 1-3 in Detroit.
With the win in the finale of a three-game series, the Royals went 3-3 on the road trip against a pair of AL Central Division rivals (they played the Chicago White first).
Witt, the dynamic rookie infielder who became the fifth player in Royals history to record 20 steals and 20 home runs in a season, registered his 24th go-ahead RBI of the season — the second-most in the majors this season.
The Royals left 13 men on base and went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position. But with the score tied 2-2 in the eighth, Nicky Lopez drew a one-out walk. He was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a double to left by MJ Melendez (1 for 4, run scored, RBI, walk), but Melendez advanced to third on the throw home.
That brought Witt to the plate with two outs. Witt ripped a ball at 102 mph on the ground that deflected off the glove of Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario and into left field for an RBI double.
That double drove in what proved to be the winning run.
Witt went 2 for 4 with a walk and RBI and made a jaw-dropping, bare-handed play at third base on a ball that caromed high in the air off the foot of pitcher Collin Snider.
Royals center fielder Michael A. Taylor went 3 for 5 with a run scored, and Lopez went 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI. Taylor now has 28 multi-hit games this season, and he went 10 for 25 (.400) on the road trip.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez had a hit and a walk in his return to the lineup for the first time since he was hit in the hand by a 93 mph fastball Friday night.
Max Castillo started for the Royals and allowed two runs on five hits, including one home run, and one walk in 4 2/3 innings. He also struck out five. Castillo, who has made seven of his 11 appearances in the majors out of the bullpen, threw a career-high 95 pitches.
Castillo, acquired along with minor-league infielder Samad Taylor from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Whit Merrifield trade, made his first start for the Royals against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 18. In that outing, the 23-year-old right-hander allowed just one run on three hits in five innings.
The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the fourth thanks to a bases-loaded RBI single by Lopez as well as a bases-loaded walk by Melendez. Lopez entered the day batting .333 against the Tigers.
Lopez hadn’t had a hit with the bases loaded this season prior to his fourth-inning single. Melendez started his plate appearance down 0-2 before drawing the walk on a full count.
The Tigers tied the score against Castillo two batters into the bottom half of the inning. Javier Baez singled and Harold Castro mashed a tying two-run homer to right-center field.
Royals relief pitchers Snider (1/3 innings), Jose Cuas (one inning), Amir Garrett (2/3 innings), Dylan Coleman (1 1/3 innings) held the Tigers without a run after Castillo came out of the game.
The score remained tied until Witt’s RBI double in the eighth.
Royals closer Scott Barlow retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his 21st save of the season.
The Royals begin a six-game homestand Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.
