Royals bail out ballboy by rallying past Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jorge Soler thought his spectacular diving catch in the ninth inning that helped preserve the Kansas City Royals' 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers trumped his go-ahead single the previous inning.

Maybe that was because the young outfielder's defense has been so maligned early in his career.

Or maybe it was because he got to the foul ball before the ballboy.

You see, the Tigers had taken a 2-0 lead in the top half of the eighth when the ballboy down the firstbase line mistakenly picked up a fair ball, resulting in a ground-rule double. Royals reliever Blaine Boyer (1-0) walked Victor Martinez before serving up JaCoby Jones' hard-hit double to left field.

But the Royals' answered when Francisco Liriano, who was stingy all night, walked Cheslor Cuthbert to start the eighth. Liriano was lifted for Daniel Stumpf (1-1), who gave up a pair of singles and was yanked for reliever Joe Jimenez, who promptly threw a wild pitch to score a run.

Whit Merrifield knotted the game moments later with a sacrifice fly, and Soler's single through the left side of the infield brought home two runs — and gave that embarrassed ballboy a bit of relief.

"I didn't think it was going to impact the game," said Royals manager Ned Yost said of the boy's flub, reasoning it would have been a double anyway. "At least he was awake."

Royals closer Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save, though the highlight was Soler tracking down that fly ball along the wall and making a dramatic diving grab.

"I was in a little bit and I saw the line drive toward the wall," Soler said through a translator. "I actually worked on that particular play (before the game). The dive and catch."

The collapse by the Detroit bullpen squandered a stellar outing by Liriano, who gave up a run on three hits and two walks. It also added to the misery that began before the game, when the Tigers had to put slugger Miguel Cabrera on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring.

PUJOLS REACHES 3,000

Albert Pujols has become the 32nd player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits, getting a broken-bat single to right field off Seattle’s Mike Leake in the fifth inning to join the exclusive club.

Pujols dumped the single into shallow right field on his sixth attempt to reach the mark after getting to 2,999. He received a standing ovation from the crowd in Seattle and was given the baseball as a memento. His teammates all greeted Pujols on the field before action resume.

Pujols nearly got the mark in the first inning, but his hard liner was right at shortstop Jean Segura. Pujols walked on a 3-2 pitch leading off the fourth inning after fouling off four two-strike pitches.

The 38-year-old Pujols joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez as the fourth player in baseball history with 3,000 hits and 600 homers. He’s the first player to reach the mark since Adrian Beltre last year against Baltimore.