Tigers pour it on against Royals

[July 11, 2014]  KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It only counts for one victory, but the Detroit Tigers left little doubt that they want to stay at the top of the American League Central. The Tigers battered four Kansas City Royals pitchers and took the first game of an important four-game series with a 16-4 victory over the Royals in front of 21,775 on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.

"We hit the ball hard at times and we found the hole at times," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "It seemed like any time we got the bat on the ball it was able to find a spot. When you get as many hits and as many runs as we got, you're finding some spots.

"These guys are major league players over there (in the Royals clubhouse). They're pretty good at putting yesterday's game behind them. I don't think it will have any long-term effect on them."

The Tigers came into the series with a 4 1/2-game lead over the second-place Royals in the American League Central.

Detroit designated hitter Torii Hunter has seen mid-season showdowns before in his long career, and he said it's no more important than any other series.

"It's not a big series; it's just another series," he said. "It was no statement. It's a good series because it's in the division. But you don't get caught up in it in June or July and say that it's a big series. Because then you're going to have another series against a different team and they'll beat you."

While the post-game talk was nondescript, the Tigers' offense made it clear from the start that they wanted to make a statement. Every starter scored at least one run and all but catcher Alex Avila reached base at least twice in the first five innings.
 

Eleven different Tigers had at least one hit and scored at least one run. The Tigers had three big innings, with the biggest being the fifth, when they scored eight runs.

Drew Smyly gave up four runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings to pick up the victory and improve to 5-8.

"He actually got better as it got later," Ausmus said of Smyly's outing. "You want him to go seven innings, but you also want him to walk off the mound with a good taste. With [Eric] Hosmer's home run he went 6 2/3 and gave up four runs."

Smyly was disappointed with his finish, but he was happy that he had plenty of cushion.

"You don't want to go out with the last batter getting a home run," he said. "But it was a great game. Our offense scored tons of runs. It's a fun way to pitch. You just have to go right at them."

Jeremy Guthrie (5-8) gave up eight runs in four-plus innings to take the loss for Kansas City. It was the most runs he has allowed in his career. The Royals' 16 runs allowed were a season high, as were the 19 hits, eight doubles and nine extra-base hits.

"We didn't pitch good tonight and that's the bottom line," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "That's why they scored a bunch of runs."

The only highlight for Kansas City was first baseman Hosmer, who was 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season and second in two games. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

The Tigers jumped on Guthrie quickly with three in the first inning. Kansas City got a run back in the second. Detroit broke it open in the fourth with three more runs. Kansas City responded in the bottom of the fourth when designated hitter Billy Butler led off with his third home run of the season.

Hunter led off the top of the fifth with a 428-foot home run to left. Third baseman Nick Castellanos followed with an infield single and Guthrie was done for the night.

"(Guthrie was) just struggling with command. It just wasn't his night," Yost said.

Relievers Scott Downs and Louis Coleman did little to put out the fire, and the Tigers scored eight runs in the fifth.

NOTES: Royals OF Alex Gordon was diagnosed with a sprained right wrist. He received an injection Thursday and was ruled out for the All-Star Game on Tuesday. He will not be placed on the disabled list and will be available to the Royals as a defensive replacement. ... Tigers DH Victor Martinez, who has not played since leaving the July 4 game because of right side soreness, is feeling better, manager Brad Ausmus said. Ausmus is not ruling out Martinez's return during the four-game series against the Royals. ... Royals RHP Jason Vargas was placed on the 15-day disabled list after an appendectomy on Wednesday in Florida. The Royals called up RHP Louis Coleman, and LHP Bruce Chen will fill the rotation vacancy. ... Royals OF Jarrod Dyson stole two bases in the ninth inning at Tampa Bay on Wednesday night and became the fourth fastest among active players to reach 100 steals (296 games). Only Dee Gordon (233 games), Jacoby Ellsbury (263) and Carl Crawford (289 games) were faster among active players.

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