Pasquantino hits two homers, Lugo pitches 8 solid innings, and Royals beat Tigers 7-1
DETROIT — Vinnie Pasquantino hit two home runs, Seth Lugo allowed just four hits in eight solid innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1 on Thursday night.
Bobby Witt Jr. also hit a home run for the Royals, who are 4-0 on their last road trip. Detroit has lost four straight and been outscored 25-5 in those games.
“Vinnie is a run producer and he’s had some big games for us lately, after his home run yesterday, he hit two today,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Bobby was in a little bit of a down period for him, he was 0 for 2 before he hit the home run and the double.”
Lugo (13-5) allowed one run, three strikeouts and a walk after going 1-3 in July. He is 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA in nine starts against the American League Central this season.
“The game plan was just to attack hitters,” Lugo said. “I want the ball and I’m in a great position physically. I wanted the ninth, but (Quatraro) made the right play there.”
Keider Montero (1-5) allowed four runs on six hits in a career-high seven innings. The rookie, one of only two healthy Detroit starters, allowed three runs before getting an out but calmed down.
“We adjusted our pitching strategy after that inning,” he said through an interpreter. “We knew they were sitting on the slider, so we used the fastball and the changeup to keep them off balance.”
Maikel Garcia led off the game with a single and stole second and third without pitching. Witt walked and Pasquantino hit his 13th home run into the right-field bleachers for a 3-0 lead.
“With a runner on third base and nobody out, I’m just trying to get the ball in the air,” Pasquantino said.
Bligh Madris got the Tigers on the board with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, but Freddy Fermin’s RBI single gave Kansas City a 4-1 lead in the seventh.
“Lugo is an All-Star and he’s smart,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “He’s got a ton of pitches he can use and he thrives on excessive aggression early in games.”
Witt and Pasquantino hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning off Brenan Hanifee. It was Pasquantino’s first multi-homer game, coming in the same ballpark where he hit his first major league home run on July 1, 2022.
“It was nice to run around the bases this time instead of getting thrown out at second,” said Pasquantino, whose first home run came only after a review of the cover. “It’s nice to have two good memories here.”
Witt added an RBI double in the ninth.
“He’s an incredible player and he’s the face of baseball tomorrow, at least in part,” Hinch said. “He gets on base, he’s got power, he’s got speed. He’s a generational player for a reason.”
TRAINERS’ ROOM
The Tigers, who had just 23 players on their active roster after the trade deadline, activated SS Javier Baez from the injured list and selected Hanifee and left-handed pitcher Sean Guenther from Triple-A Toledo. Detroit will have 11 relievers for the four-game series against the Royals.
FOLLOWING
The teams will play the second of four games in the series Friday night, with Tigers left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal (12-3, 2.35 ERA) facing left-handed pitcher Cole Ragans (7-7, 3.37).
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