RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesMichael Massey did not start on Sunday in Detroit, and his first swing off the bench produced nothing but a fly ball to right.
His second trip made up for all of it.
Batting with two outs in the eighth inning and the Royals down a run, Massey connected against Drew Sommers and sent a fly ball out to right field, a two-run shot that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 Kansas City win.
Massey had entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and stayed in at second base, per MLB.com, which is how the second chance found him.
The victory gave the Royals a split of the four-game series after they had dropped the first two at Comerica Park.
An Early Lead
Kansas City did its early damage immediately.
Lane Thomas opened the game with a leadoff homer to right, his 10th of the season and a welcome sight in a bounce-back year after he played just 39 games for Cleveland last season.
Nick Loftin scored later in the first on a Detroit error, and Luke Maile doubled home Tyler Tolbert in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.
The fifth inning gave it all back.
Starter Luinder Avila ran into trouble during a four-run Detroit rally, an inning in which two runs scored on Riley Greene's fielder's choice and Dillon Dingler followed with a two-run single that put the Tigers in front 4-3.
Avila finished with three runs, two earned, across four and a third innings, and the bullpen took it from there.
Massey Keeps Swinging a Hot Bat
The eighth belonged to Massey, who delivered after Isaac Collins singled.
MLB.com noted he is batting .347 with a .910 OPS over his last 15 games, a stretch that has quietly become one of the best offensive stories on the roster, and Sunday's homer was already his eighth of the season after he managed three in 77 games all of last year.
Nate Pearson worked a scoreless inning for the win, and Steven Cruz pitched around traffic in the ninth, striking out Riley Greene to lock down his second save.
Coming off the bench cold is one of the hardest jobs in the sport, and turning that sixth-inning flyout into an eighth-inning winner is the sort of redemption hitters dream about.
The Royals have made a habit of these finishes lately.
Per MLB.com, Kansas City has won seven of its last 10 games since the All-Star break, and all seven games at Comerica Park this season have been decided by one run.
Playing Its Best Baseball
A 45-62 record leaves no doubts about the standings, but the second half has offered real signs of life, one day after Salvador Perez claimed the franchise home run record in Saturday's win.
The performances also sharpen the front office's choices around Michael Wacha as the deadline chatter builds.
This lineup has shown flashes all month, from a 16-run explosion against the Mets to the grinding wins in Detroit, and days like Sunday beat the alternative that showed up in losses like the quiet afternoon against Tampa Bay earlier this month.
Massey made sure the trip home feels a bit more happy.
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