Kansas City, Missouri. — Colt Keith was asked about the game-winning double by fellow rookie Wenceel Perez, who pinch-hit a two-run double to tie the Tigers’ thrilling 7-6 victory in the sixth inning on Monday.
“It was one of about 20 big at-bats we had in the game,” he said.
He exaggerated, but only a little.
Keith’s 406-foot, two-run home run against Seth Lugo in the fifth inning and Perez’s liner into the left field corner were the headlines. And the crucial work of the bullpen, particularly Will Vest, Beau Brieske and Jason Foley, was the starring role.
But as he has been all season, Matt Vierling was quietly at the center of all the good things that happened to the Tigers in this win, hitting three singles, including the one that won the game in the sixth inning.
He accounted for another run, although he didn’t get an RBI, in the fifth inning before Keith’s home run. With Parker Meadows on second base, he threw one up the middle. Shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr. made a great play, but replays showed Vierling would beat the throw to first base.
Witt’s hasty throw sailed over the head of first baseman Yuli Gurriel and Meadows scored.
Vierling also deserves credit for his subtly great play in right field that prevented a run in the seventh inning.
The Royals scored the tying run on third base with one out when their two best hitters stepped up – Witt and Salvador Perez. Vest out-hit Witt and got him to chase down a 97 mph run and walk away.
Witt hit the ball down the right field line, deep enough (230 feet) to at least give reliever Garrett Hampson the idea of high-fived and trying to score.
But Vierling was quick enough to get to the ball and angle his body perfectly before catching it, directing all his force at the plate. Hampson didn’t test him.
“It was a great moment,” Hinch said. “And Vierling was in a great position to throw the ball.”
Vest ended the inning by forcing Perez to fly out to center.
The little things are crucial for big victories.
McKinstry’s wheels
Zach McKinstry gave the Royals a taste of their own medicine with his combative style of baseball.
His speed turned a sure double into an aggressive triple in the fourth inning when the ball was hit into right field. Then, even more aggressively, he tagged and scored the Tigers’ first run of the game with a 305-foot line drive hit to the center fielder. Kyle Isbel from Trey Sweeney.
In the seventh inning, McKinstry again got himself into a scoring position. First, he hit pitcher James McArthur to the sack with a ground ball to first base. Then he stole second base.
He has reached his career high with 16 steals and has never been caught. And for that he takes his hat off to bench coach and running game supervisor George Lombard.
“George runs our base-stealing meetings and we talk about certain things that happen in games,” McKinstry said. “We learn from other people’s mistakes, just like we analyze other games.”
“We watch pitchers in slow motion when they have people on base and try to find the keys. Like what moves first when he goes to first base and what moves first when he goes home.”
Lombard has noticed that some pitchers seeking more velocity, especially out of the stretch, tend to lean back or tilt a little to give their throw more momentum.
This is an easy way to identify a base stealer, and McKinstry has used it to get a big step ahead of certain pitchers.
“We’re trying to skip that,” he said. “It was good. Keep it up.”
If you make a list of the players responsible for Detroit’s late-summer surge, make sure McKinstry is on it.
In 23 games since August 17, McKinstry has a batting average of .375/.436/.536 and an OPS of .971. In those 62 at-bats, he has four doubles, one triple, one home run, five RBIs, seven stolen bases and eight runs scored.
Olson’s reboot
For a moment it looked good.
Reese O’Isonmaking his first start since late July, struck out the first six batters he faced on Monday. And he looked good doing it, spinning his slider (up to 2,994 rpm) with his four-seam and two-seam fastballs.
The Royals missed the ball five times on six hits with the slider and he managed three strikeouts.
“I felt as good as I could in the first two innings,” he said.
Then came the third. It was already clear that it would be a short appearance for Olson, who had thrown up to three innings and 45 pitches in two rehab appearances. But he hadn’t planned for it to end so abruptly.
He took small balls from the three worst hitters in Kansas City’s batting lineup – a walk, a ball-in-play single by shortstop and a bunt single – which loaded the bases and threw the lineup into disarray.
Olson struck out the first batter Tommy Pham for the second time in the game. That brought Witt into the picture.
Olson got him to roll over a slider in the first inning, hitting a hard bounce ball to shortstop Sweeney. He tried to get the same result again, but this time with a different shape. He threw a curveball.
“Really bad,” Olson said. “I wanted to throw the ball down and away, trying to get a ground ball. I happened to throw a really bad curveball to one of the best hitters in the world, and that’s what he does.”
Witt hit the ball. The ball left his bat at a speed of 174 km/h and flew 116 m inside the foul post on the left side.
“I felt good (physically),” Olson said. “It’s a win, I guess. And the guys supported me.”
Olson will likely start two more times.
Tiger at Royals
▶ First pitch: 7:40 p.m. Wednesday, Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri.
▶ Television/Radio: Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM
Scouting report
▶ LHP Tarik Skubal (16-4, 2.50), Tigers: He is well aware of his struggles at Kauffman Stadium (1-5, 6.14 ERA, .809 opponents’ OPS), but his one rocky start in Kansas City in May looks like an anomaly in the context of this sensational season. This will be his 30th year in the league.th Start and he leads the American League in pitcher WAR (5.8), ERA, strikeouts (214) and FIP (2.56).
▶ RHP Alec Marsh (8-8, 4.52), Royals: The Royals are 16-8 in his starts, averaging nearly six runs in offensive support (5.77). He beat the Tigers in May (three runs, six innings) and has a career-high 11 strikeouts in Pittsburgh. He has six pitches but relies on sliders and a curveball off his 94-mph four-seam fastball.
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