DETROIT (AP) — Zack Short homered and drove in two runs, Javier Báez got his 1,000th career hit and the Detroit Tigers beat the slumping Kansas City Royals 9-4 on Wednesday.
The Royals have lost 15 of 18 games.
Matthew Boyd (5-5) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for Detroit. He struck out seven without a walk.
Brady Singer (4-7) lost his third straight decision, giving up five runs, seven hits and a walk in seven innings.
The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the second. Maikel Garcia and Samad Taylor singled before Freddy Fermin hit a line drive to left-center field. Left fielder Andy Ibañez and center fielder Matt Vierling both went for the ball, which evaded Ibañez's reach then bounced off the wall and past Vierling for a two-run double.
Eric Haase tied it with a two-run double in the bottom of the inning, and Short made it 3-2 with an RBI single.
Báez put the Tigers ahead 4-2 in the third, driving in Kerry Carpenter with his 1,000th hit.
Short led off the fifth with his fourth homer, giving the Tigers a three-run lead.
Kansas City second baseman Taylor and right fielder Matt Beaty collided going after Spencer Torkelson's shallow fly ball to lead off the eighth. Both players stayed down for several minutes, but Taylor stayed in the game and Beaty walked off under his own power.
Torkelson ended up on third and scored on Báez's single over a drawn-in infield. The Tigers added three more runs in the inning for a 9-3 lead.
BRIGHT AND EARLY
The 1:10 pm start was Detroit's 38th day game of the season, the most in the majors. The Tigers are 14-24 in afternoon games as opposed to 18-17 at night.
ROUGH FINISH
Moments after Taylor was shaken up by the collision with Beaty, he was taken out on a hard slide by Jake Marisnick while trying to turn a double play. In the ninth, he was hit on the left hand by a 94.4 mph fastball but stayed in the game after another visit with the trainer. Adding insult to injury, after a review, it was ruled a foul ball.
UP NEXT
The Tigers have Thursday off before opening a weekend home series with the Minnesota Twins. LHP Joey Wentz (1-7, 6.82) is scheduled to start the opener.
Kansas City will travel to Florida for a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Neither team has announced a starter for Thursday's opener.
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