RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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KANSAS CITY, MO - Suddenly, Detroit Tigers pitcher Troy Melton didn’t look comfortable.
He stomped on the mound in Kauffman Stadium, trying to fix his landing spot. He knelt behind the rubber and scraped at his cleats. The usually unflappable pitcher seemed out of sorts at the end of his outing in a 5-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals o Friday, Aug. 21. He gave up a pair of home runs, which was odd on its own – he had given up only one dinger in his last eight starts.
So, that was weird. But now, here’s a little perspective: He ended up giving up just two earned runs in 5⅔ innings and it felt like a bad start, which tells you how impressive he has been.
But on this night, the Tigers were doomed by the long ball.
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The Royals hit two off Melton and one off reliever Tyler Holton.
That was also odd. Holton had gone eight games without giving up a homer.
The Tigers (61-67) have now lost six of seven games to fall to six games under .500 and two games back of the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers in the American League wild-card chase.
At the plate: Tigers start slow
The Tigers started the game with a lineup that included five rookies.
And they didn’t do much against lefty Noah Cameron. Then again, not many have done much against Cameron since he started calling his own pitches. He had given up just five runs over 37⅔ innings (1.19 ERA). Part of his surge was the effectiveness of his slider, which has used more often during his hot streak. Another reason was because of a nasty curveball. Since he entered the big leagues in 2025, he has held opponents to a .148 batting average against his curveball, the best in the AL.
But the Tigers also struggled against his cutter, which he threw more than anything.
Still, there was a story under the story: Cameron was coming off a 115-pitch shutout of the Los Angeles Angels on Aug.16.
Would he show some overall fatigue against the Tigers? Certainly not early in the game. He held the Tigers to just two hits and no runs in the first three innings.
But he started to waver in the fourth when he walked Spencer Torkelson and Ben Malgeri. Then Max Clark grounded out to first to end the threat.
But Cameron was taken out after just five innings. He had given up just two hits over five innings. And he had thrown only 85 pitches – his shortest outing since May 16.
The Royals turned to their bullpen and that gave the Tigers a chance.
They were down 3-0 in the seventh inning. Then, they started chipping back. Zach McKinstry had an RBI double. Then, Kevin McGonigle had an RBI single, driving in McKinstry who scored from second.
On the mound: Troy Melton's night
Melton cruised through the first three innings in typical fashion, giving up just two hits and no runs.
Then, his defense let him down.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a sharp bouncer past Spencer Torkelson and turned it into a double, even though it could have been ruled an error.
Melton then got the ground ball he needed, right up the middle to Kevin McGonigle. But the ball shot off McGonigle’s glove and through his legs, and Pasquantino scored, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead on the error.
It got worse in the fifth when Melton left a fastball over the middle of the plate. Kyle Isbel crushed a 94 mph four-seam fastball over the left-field fence, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead.
It was stunning, in one regard. It was the first homer that Melton had given up in eight games, dating back to July 1.
But the trouble continued. The Royals put two guys on with no outs.
But Salvadore Perez hit into a double play, as Melton escaped the jam.
Pasquantino added a homer in the sixth, Carter Jensen had a solo shot in the seventh and the Royals turned it into a 5-2 game in the eighth when right-hander Ty Madden gave up a pair of doubles.
Next up: Night time at The K
The Tigers will play the second game of this series at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday (7:10 p.m., Detroit SportsNet). Right-hander Drew Anderson (4-4, 4.01 ERA) gets the start for the Tigers. Righty Michael Wacha (6-8, 3.58) will get the start for the Royals, who locked up the season series (7-4) against the Tigers with Friday's victory.
Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected] . Follow him on X @seideljeff .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers thumped by Royals' big hits in series opener in Kansas City
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