Final
Rodriguez's six-RBI night helps Tigers down Royals
Apr 17, 2007 - 4:39 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Detroit Tigers made sure all of Justin Verlander's stellar outings would not go to waste.Ivan Rodriguez hit a grand slam and Verlander picked up his first win as the Tigers cruised to a 12-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the first game of a three-game set.
The reigning American League Rookie of the Year, Verlander (1-0) had yet to record a win despite allowing just one unearned run through two starts. He yielded his first three earned runs and five hits with no walks and six strikeouts over six innings.
"Those first couple outings, I really wasn't that far off," Verlander said. "A bunch of those walks could've gone either way. Tonight was pretty similar. A couple of those questionable calls went my way. I felt like my breaking ball was a little better tonight for strikes."
Rodriguez's homer to deep center accounted for all four first-inning runs for the Tigers. It was his first grand slam since 2002 and marked the third consecutive game the Royals allowed one.
"(Zack) Greinke threw me some good pitches," Rodriguez said. "I had to foul off a couple of them just to stay alive but he finally got one over the plate and I was able to hit it a long way."
"He always hits me good," Royals starter Greinke said. "I gave him four good breaking balls and he hit the fifth. At first, I thought it was an out. Then, I remembered the wind and thought it might be a double. Then, the wind carried it all the way."
Following an fielding error by Tony Pena Jr. with Detroit leading, 5-2, Rodriguez lined a two-run double to left to give the Tigers a 7-2 advantage in the second. His six RBI were the most since he plated nine on April 13, 1999, against Seattle and one more than he had recorded in his first 11 games this season.
"I got two pitches to hit tonight and I was able to get both of them, one off the end of the bat for a double and the other one for the home run," Rodriguez said.
"He's the best catcher I have ever seen," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "He is the best combination of a offensive and defensive player that there is. He's just a great player."
Carlos Guillen homered for the first time this season and finished with four RBI.
Grienke (1-2) was abysmal in his third start of the season, throwing only 29 of his 49 pitches for strikes in just two-thirds of an inning. He allowed four runs and three hits with three walks and a strikeout.
"I was shocked to see him in that position," Bell said. "He had good stuff but got behind the hitters and was out of the strike zone. There was nothing physically wrong with him. It was just one of those nights. You have to give credit to the Tigers' hitters."
"They wouldn't let me put them away," Greinke said. "It puts a lot of stress on your arm and it make it tough to make good pitches. It's something you should be able to overcome, I just couldn't do it."
Ryan Shealy hit a two-run homer and Emil Brown scored twice and had two hits for Kansas City, which dropped their season-high fifth straight game.
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 5 7 2
DETROIT 4 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 x 12 10 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: KAN - ZACK GREINKE, JASON STANDRIDGE (1ST), RYAN BRAUN (5TH), JOAKIM
SORIA (8TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (8TH) AND JOHN BUCK
DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER, JOSE MESA (7TH), BOBBY SE
Apr 16 10:32 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY CARLOS GUILLEN SCORED PLACIDO POLANCO, GARY
SHEFFIELD AND MAGGLIO ORDONEZ.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, C GUILLEN ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 5
DETROIT 12 BOTTOM, 8TH
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: I RODRIGUEZ (.294, 2-FOR-4, HR, 6 RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 10:19 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 5 7 2
DETROIT 4 3 1 1 0 0 9 8 0 (BOT 7)
CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - RYAN BRAUN
DET - JOEL ZUMAYA
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: S CASEY (.209, 1-FOR-3)
C MONROE (.205, 0-FOR-2, BB)
B INGE (.122, 0-FOR-2, BB)
Apr 16 9:45 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY RYAN SHEALY (1) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 7TH OFF JOSE MESA SCORED EMIL BROWN.
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 5, DETROIT 9
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J BUCK (.450, 2-FOR-2, RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 9:28 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DAVID DEJESUS SCORED JOHN BUCK.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D DEJESUS ON FIRST, T PENA JR ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 3
DETROIT 9 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J LARUE (.136, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
Apr 16 9:00 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DAVID DEJESUS SCORED JOHN BUCK.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D DEJESUS ON FIRST, T PENA JR ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 3
DETROIT 9 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J LARUE (.136, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 9:00 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 2 0 0 2 3 2
DETROIT 4 3 1 1 9 8 0 (TOP 5)
CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - JASON STANDRIDGE
DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: R SHEALY (.088, 0-FOR-1)
J BUCK (.421, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
T PENA JR (.222, 0-FOR-1)
Apr 16 8:49 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY CARLOS GUILLEN (1) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 4TH OFF JASON STANDRIDGE.
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2, DETROIT 9
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: I RODRIGUEZ (.306, 2-FOR-2, HR, 6 RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 8:41 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY MARK TEAHEN ALLOWED CURTIS GRANDERSON TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, P POLANCO ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
DETROIT 8 BOTTOM, 3RD
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: G SHEFFIELD (.143, 1-FOR-1, BB)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 8:27 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY IVAN RODRIGUEZ SCORED GARY SHEFFIELD AND MAGGLIO
ORDONEZ.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, I RODRIGUEZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
DETROIT 7 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: S CASEY (.220, 1-FOR-1)
Apr 16 8:09 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY IVAN RODRIGUEZ SCORED GARY SHEFFIELD AND MAGGLIO
ORDONEZ.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, I RODRIGUEZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
DETROIT 7 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: S CASEY (.220, 1-FOR-1)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 8:09 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY MAGGLIO ORDONEZ SCORED PLACIDO POLANCO.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M ORDONEZ ON FIRST, G SHEFFIELD ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
DETROIT 5 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: C GUILLEN (.244, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Apr 16 8:07 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY MAGGLIO ORDONEZ SCORED PLACIDO POLANCO.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M ORDONEZ ON FIRST, G SHEFFIELD ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
DETROIT 5 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: C GUILLEN (.244, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 8:07 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 2 2 3 0
DETROIT 4 4 3 0 (BOT 2)
CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - JASON STANDRIDGE
DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: C GRANDERSON (.280, 1-FOR-1)
P POLANCO (.347, 0-FOR-1)
G SHEFFIELD (.122, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Apr 16 7:58 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JOHN BUCK SCORED EMIL BROWN.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J BUCK ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
DETROIT 4 TOP, 2ND
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: T PENA JR (.227, 0 HR, 3 RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 7:55 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY EMIL BROWN SCORED ALEX GORDON.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E BROWN ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
DETROIT 4 TOP, 2ND
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: R SHEALY (.091, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 7:51 PM - AL
AT DETROIT - SCORING UPDATE
GRAND SLAM BY IVAN RODRIGUEZ (3) TO CENTER WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 1ST OFF ZACK GREINKE SCORED CURTIS GRANDERSON, GARY SHEFFIELD AND
CARLOS GUILLEN.
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 0, DETROIT 4
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: S CASEY (.200, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
Royals vs. TigersApr 16 7:33 PM
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