Witt hits inside-the-park HR ... on a ground ball
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KANSAS CITY – The Royals wasted absolutely no time getting their offense started against the Tigers and opener Burch Smith on Saturday night, and Bobby Witt Jr. wasted absolutely no time getting around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in the first inning.
With Maikel Garcia on second base after a leadoff double, Witt smoked a ball down the first-base line and into right field – and immediately took off. It bounced off the sidewall in right field foul territory, getting away from Kerry Carpenter, and by that point Witt was rounding second, looking at third and eying home.
The relay throw had no chance as Witt Superman-slid safely into home, sparking the Royals to an eventual 5-1 win over the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. The victory was Kansas City’s seventh in its last nine since May began and clinched a series win ahead of Sunday night’s finale.
Witt went from home to home in 14.13 seconds, the fourth-fastest home-to-home time in the Statcast era (since 2015). The only players with a faster trip around the bases:
Byron Buxton’s 13.85 seconds on Aug. 18, 2017
Buxton’s 14.05 seconds on Oct. 2, 2016
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 14.08 seconds on Aug. 23, 2024
Witt was truly flying, with a 30.4 feet/second sprint speed, which is considered elite. He went from home to third in 10.91 seconds before the final 90-foot sprint.
His fifth home run of the season, Saturday’s round-tripper was Witt’s second career inside-the-park home run and the Royals’ first since he did it on Aug. 14, 2023, against Seattle. That home-to-home time for Witt was 14.29 seconds – which ranks seventh on the list for fastest tracked home-to-home times under Statcast.
The Royals extended their early lead in the fourth on Michael Massey’s three-run homer – this one out of the park at a Statcast-projected 403 feet. Starter Michael Wacha never let the Tigers get close to a comeback, twirling seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Wacha worked around two walks, a wild pitch and a hit batter to keep the Tigers off the board. It was his fourth outing of at least seven innings this season and second in as many starts.