DETROIT -- Music blared out of the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park, and the Royals were all smiles as they packed up their stuff to finally head home Sunday afternoon.
That¡¯s what snapping a six-game losing streak will do. The Royals¡¯ 4-3 win over the Tigers in 10 innings at Comerica Park sent Kansas City into the team off-day in a good mood and on a good note.
¡°It was a big-time win for us,¡± starter Michael Wacha said. ¡°Snapping that losing streak and getting back in the win column was absolutely huge.¡±
It had been a whole week since the Royals celebrated a win. The fact that they were hopping on a flight to get back to Kansas City after a tough 2-8 road trip and grueling 17-game stretch without an off-day made the celebration that much better.
¡°Now just build off it,¡± said Bobby Witt Jr., whose sacrifice fly in the 10th represented the winning run. ¡°That¡¯s all you can do now. ¡ Now it¡¯s just about having a good off-day, reset things and get back home to our fans and be ready to go.¡±
It was, by all accounts, a disappointing and frustrating three-city swing through Cleveland, New York and Detroit. The Royals only won two games. Their offense evaporated, and their pitching, at times, was wobbly.
A reset after a day off and a return to Kauffman Stadium could probably do some good, especially as the Royals are set to welcome the Rockies (3-17) to Kansas City for three games this coming week.
And momentum from Sunday¡¯s win certainly helps.
¡°Look, we know we¡¯re going to go through some tough stretches,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°This was a tough road trip against good teams. We¡¯re going to play better than we¡¯ve played this week, that¡¯s for sure. You just don¡¯t know when it¡¯s going to happen. But any day is an opportunity to make the most of it.¡±
All the Royals had to do Sunday was get past reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. He had thrown back-to-back scoreless starts and would face an offense that entered Sunday having scored just 2.86 runs per game this year and were batting only .179 and .109 (5-for-46) in scoring situations during their six-game losing streak.
The Royals didn¡¯t seem to care about all that.
They ran Skubal¡¯s pitch count up to 91 through five innings and jumped to an early lead against him in the second. Maikel Garcia and Hunter Renfroe hit back-to-back singles, and Vinnie Pasquantino -- representing the Royals¡¯ only lefty batter against the lefty Skubal and batting seventh for the first time in his career -- poked a two-strike RBI single into left field.
Drew Waters followed with his first RBI of the year as the switch-hitting outfielder continues to take advantage of more playing time.
¡°Getting him out after five is a win in itself, and hanging two runs on him, make him throw some pitches, that¡¯s a good day,¡± outfielder Mark Canha said. ¡°It¡¯s a good day off Tarik Skubal. We¡¯ll take it.¡±
The Tigers tied the game against Wacha with two runs in the fifth inning and took the lead in the seventh against Daniel Lynch IV, snapping the lefty¡¯s 31-inning scoreless streak that dated back to Aug. 26, 2024.
But the Royals came right back in the eighth, with Canha rolling a ground ball through the middle gap to score Witt. The Royals¡¯ swings and approaches looked much simpler on Sunday -- what has probably been missing the most in the midst of an offensive slump.
¡°They didn¡¯t try to do too much,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°[Skubal] doesn¡¯t really allow you to try to do too much. He¡¯s got such good stuff.¡±
Quatraro handed the ball to closer Carlos Estévez in the ninth inning, hoping to stay away from Lucas Erceg, who is still recovering from Friday¡¯s left foot contusion. A seven-pitch inning from Est¨¦vez meant he would go back out for the 10th.
By then, he was pitching with the lead. Jonathan India hit a hard ground ball to the right side of the infield, allowing Waters, as the automatic runner in extra innings, to advance to third base. Witt drove a ball to left field for the sacrifice fly and winning run.
Est¨¦vez worked out of a jam when he had runners on first and third with two outs.
¡°We knew it had to be like that,¡± Canha said. ¡°It had to be a grindy win, scrape one out there. That hopefully gets us back on the right track.¡±