Tigers pound three homers, edge Royals in Lugo’s return

Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler set the pace with early two-run homers, and Spencer Torkelson went deep late, as the visiting Detroit Tigers won their fifth straight, 7-5 over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
Dingler and Wenceel Perez each had three hits, while the former drove in three for the Tigers, who have averaged 6.7 runs amid a 12-3 road stretch. Detroit’s offense picked up starter Casey Mize, who allowed three runs, eight hits and two walks over just 3 1/3 innings.
Bobby Witt Jr. homered, Maikel Garcia had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Drew Waters added two hits with three RBIs for the Royals, who stranded 11 men and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Kansas City’s Seth Lugo (3-5) returned from a two-week-plus stint on the injured list and also lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing both two-run homers, five hits and two walks.
After retiring the first two batters of the game, Lugo allowed a single to Colt Keith, then Greene sent a drive deep into the right-field seats.
Witt drove a Mize pitch into the left-field fountains in the bottom of the first.
In the second, with a man on, Dingler clubbed a Lugo pitch over the left-field fence into the Tigers’ bullpen.
But, the Royals continued to pressure Mize in the third. Walks to Vinnie Pasquantino and Garcia sandwiched Salvador Perez’s 300th career double. Waters’ two-run single narrowed the deficit to 4-3.
Mize’s night ended in the fourth when the Royals loaded the bases, but the Tigers’ Brant Hurter (2-0) did not allow any damage.
Detroit got a run back in the fifth via Torkelson’s RBI single.
In the bottom of that frame, Perez grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play with two men on. Kansas City did not waste a leadoff triple in the seventh from Garcia, who scored on Mark Canha’s sacrifice fly. However, Torkelson cleared the left-center field wall in the eighth and Dingler added an RBI single to add two insurance runs.
Waters added an RBI single in the ninth, when the Royals brought the tying run to the plate. Will Vest allowed the run, but picked up his eighth save.