KANSAS CITY -- On Friday night, Kyle Isbel blasted off with his Buzz Lightyear bat. On Saturday, he did the same with a Spider-Man bat.
With custom bats designed for Players’ Weekend, Isbel homered on back-to-back nights, and his third-inning long ball on Saturday propelled the Royals to a 3-1 win over the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium, which extended Kansas City’s season-long win streak to seven games.
The Royals haven’t lost since a week ago in Anaheim, and they have a chance for a homestand sweep with Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers on deck.
Isbel used the Buzz Lightyear bat on Friday, because his teammates sometimes call him ‘Buzz.’ On Saturday, he broke out the Spider-Man bat, because that’s the favorite superhero of Isbel’s son, Lane, whose name is also written on the bat.
Isbel was just one of the heroes in the Royals’ win on Saturday. After Isbel put them on the board, Salvador Perez clobbered his 17th home run in the fourth inning to pad the lead. Jac Caglianone doubled in the sixth, moved to third on Perez’s groundout and scored on a wild pitch for needed insurance.
But the biggest hero was probably starter Michael Wacha, who delivered seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk. He struck out six, and the one run came on a monster home run from Hao-Yu Lee in the fifth inning.
Wacha has tossed at least seven innings in 10 of his 26 starts this season, and his 17 quality starts are the most in the American League. Wacha also leads the AL in innings pitched at 162 2/3, which is just 10 away from his career high set last year with the Royals.
Reliever Alex Lange tossed a scoreless eighth, and Craig Kimbrel came on for the ninth, earning the 441st save of his career, his first with the Royals -- and his first since July 7, 2024, with the Orioles.