Miggy continues to crown Royals with go-ahead RBI
Cabrera honored in K.C., then gets key single in Tigers’ win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Royals honored Detroit Tigers veteran Miguel Cabrera before the final game of his career at Kauffman Stadium with a $10,000 check to his charitable foundation and a framed collection of pictures from when he clinched his 2012 Triple Crown.
Cabrera thanked the Royals with another clutch hit.
“It’s a great honor that they do that for me” Cabrera said of the Royals’ pregame ceremony. “I appreciate that. I always want to say thank you for everything they do for me. They made my life better . ... A lot of hits.”
The 40-year-old delivered the go-ahead single to cap a two-run sixth inning in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Royals. Cabrera, who isn’t expected to play in Thursday’s series finale, will finish his legendary 21-year MLB career with 138 hits at Kauffman Stadium.
“It’s a big ballpark,” Cabrera said. “When we first came here to play, the first three hitters hit fly balls, and Jim Leyland got mad at us: Stop hitting fly balls. Hit the ball on the ground. It’s a big ballpark. Get some hits. All I said was, ‘OK.’ When we play here, we always talk about getting hits and trying to hit the ball in the gaps.”
The Tigers (43-52) held the Royals to two runs behind strong pitching performances from left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez and relievers Jason Foley and Alex Lange in the eighth and ninth innings.
Lange stranded runners on the corners for his 16th save, striking out Kyle Isbel on three straight pitches.
“Hopefully, we can win more games,” Cabrera said.
In the sixth inning, Riley Greene cranked a leadoff double to set up the scoring opportunity. Kerry Carpenter drove in Greene with a oneout single, tying the game at two runs. A twoout walk from Javier Báez kept the inning alive.
That’s when Cabrera, facing right-handed reliever Carlos Hernández, drilled a fifth-pitch
100 mph four-seam fastball into right-center. The 1,862nd RBI of his career put the Tigers ahead, 3-2.
“Stay on the fastball,” Cabrera said of his plan. “Stay to right-center and try to make good contact.”
He received an ovation from the fans after his final plate appearance in the top of the ninth inning.
“The ball was just away from him enough for him to be able to hit the patented Miggy single,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, “which we’ve seen as a young player, we’ve seen as a mid-age player and now we’re seeing as a veteran, older player. But it seems like there’s never a doubt that he’s going to do something. In those moments, he’s pretty calm and takes whatever the game gives him.”
E-Rod’s energy
Rodriguez, in his third-to-last start before
the Aug. 1 trade deadline, took a perfect game into the fifth inning. The 30-year-old located his pitches and filled up the strike zone from the onset of his outing.
He retired the first 13 batters.
“That’s what I try to do all the time I go out there,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been working so hard this year to keep that kind of stuff all the time now. I’m working in the bullpens, with the pitching coach and with everybody to try to keep throwing the ball right where I want it.”
The Royals finally put a runner on base with one out in the fifth inning, thanks to Matt Duffy’s two-strike single into center field. The next batter, Michael Massey, pulled a sinker into right field for an RBI double, tying the game at one.
Rodriguez came one strike away from escaping without further damage, but Isbel put the Royals ahead, 2-1, with an RBI double on a two-strike four-seam fastball over the middle of the strike zone.
“I feel like I made three mistakes,” Rodriguez said. “The one to Duffy, I was trying to paint inside, and it was too much in the strike zone. The double, I was trying to go sinker in and on the hands, and I missed too much in the strike zone. The base hit, I tried to elevate, and I missed in the middle of the plate.”
In the sixth, Rodriguez retired three batters on six pitches. He then worked around a oneout hit-by-pitch and a two-out single in the seventh inning.
“I just tried to keep throwing strikes,” Rodriguez said, “and it works out.”
Rodriguez, who threw 65 of 89 pitches for strikes, allowed two runs on four hits and zero walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. All seven of his strikeouts occurred in the first four innings.
The Royals averaged a 91.2 mph exit velocity on 18 balls in play.
The Tigers’ ace threw 41 four-seam fastballs (46%), 15 sliders (17%), 15 changeups (17%), 12 cutters (13%) and six sinkers (7%). Twelve of his 15 whiffs took place in the first four innings. He has a 2.69 ERA in 14 starts.
“I feel really good every time I go out there,” Rodriguez said. “I never see how many pitches I have. I just try to go out there and keep pitching. If I have to throw 120 (pitches), I’ve done more than that in the past.”
Hammerin’ Javy
The Tigers struck first in the second inning. Báez continued his improved performance since sitting out Monday by launching a home run off left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. He pulled a two-strike changeup at the bottom of the strike zone for 409-foot solo shot to left-center field.
It was Báez’s first homer since July 2 and his seventh homer in 90 games this season.
Yarbrough, who exited in the sixth inning with a left hamstring cramp, three pitches into a walk to Báez, allowed three runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts over 52⁄3 innings. It was his second start since returning from the injured list.