Wenceel Pérez hit a two-out single in the 11th inning, and the Detroit Tigers came back three times to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Saturday night.
The Tigers were behind in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings but ended their five-game losing streak. The Royals had won five games in a row before this loss.
“Our young guys are trying to grow and survive as major leaguers,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s been a tough week, so I appreciate the fight.”
Parker Meadows started the 11th with an RBI triple, and the Royals walked Javier Báez intentionally. Jake Rogers hit into a double play, but Pérez hit a ball off the wall in right center field off James McArthur (4-5).
“What a game,” said Meadows, who also made a diving catch to prevent Bobby Witt Jr. from getting a hit in the 10th inning. “I was just thinking about getting the runner to third, but he left the ball up and I was able to drive it.”
The Royals led 3-1 going into the ninth inning, but Bligh Madris hit a home run off Hunter Harvey to start the inning. Zach McKinstry followed with a pinch-hit double.
McKinstry advanced to third on Meadows’ groundout and scored on Báez’s double. Báez then stole third without a throw, but Pérez grounded out to end the inning.
“We’re going to take our chances in the ninth, up 3-1, with Hunter Harvey every time,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “They put some good swings on the ball — you have to give them credit.”
The Royals took a 4-3 lead in the 10th on Witt’s sacrifice fly off Jason Foley (3-3), but Meadows’ catch limited the damage, and Justyn-Henry Malloy tied the game with a two-out double. Witt went 0 for 4 with a walk, ending his 15-game hitting streak.
“It went back and forth in extra innings,” Quatraro said. “On the road, you are going to have to score more than one, and we didn’t do that.”
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a long homer in the sixth inning to make it 1-0, his fourth homer in four games, but Andy Ibáñez tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.
