Price too much for Royals
KANSAS CITY -- Detroit left-hander David Price threw a complete-game five-hitter to earn his third win of the year as the Tigers beat the Royals, 2-1, on Saturday night in front of 38,692 fans at Kauffman Stadium.
Price lost his shutout when Lorenzo Cain hit a home run with two outs in the ninth. He didn't walk a hitter and struck out three.
"I just had good fastball command," Price said. "I felt good in the bullpen. First two or three innings, I didn't have to throw a lot of pitches, got some ground balls, plays defensively."
Price had a no-hitter until Mike Moustakas tapped an infield single to the left side against the shift with one out in the fourth inning.
Video: KC@DET: Cain unleashes a solo shot to left field
"Just a great game by Price," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He moved the ball in and out, 96 [mph] fastball."
Added Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, "He had a great changeup tonight. And he mixed his pitches up. He was tough."
The Tigers scored in the third inning when Anthony Gose broke up a double play with a hard slide into second base, forcing an errant throw and allowing Rajai Davis to score from third. They added a run in the fifth on Ian Kinsler's RBI single.
Video: DET@KC: Kinsler lines an RBI single to center
Royals starter Edinson Volquez, back from a five-game suspension for throwing a punch in an altercation with the White Sox on April 23, was sharp, allowing just two runs through six innings. Volquez gave up five hits and walked three while striking out four. More >
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Price precise: A day after Price talked about getting back to getting batters on or out in three pitches or less, he did a lot of the latter. He needed just 52 pitches through his first five innings, and overcame a sixth-inning rally with an eight-pitch seventh and an 11-pitch eighth. He didn't get the "Greg Maddux" -- a shutout in fewer than 100 pitches -- but he did get a complete-game five-hitter in 106 pitches, 75 of them strikes. More >
Video: DET@KC: Price whiffs Hosmer to notch complete game
Big double play:The Royals had a good chance to do some damage off Price in the sixth. With one out, Christian Colon blooped a single to center. Then Alex Gordon hit a squibber back toward the mound that scooted under Price's glove for an error. That brought up Moustakas, representing the go-ahead run. But he hit a broken-bat grounder right to Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos, who stepped on the bag and fired to first for a double play.
Video: DET@KC: Castellanos starts inning-ending double play
Gose to ground: Gose played a role in both Tiger runs. His third-inning takeout slide at second base didn't touch Colon, but it forced him off-balance on his double-play throw, which went wide of first and allowed Davis to score the first run. Two innings later, Gose never slowed on Gordon's attempt at a sliding catch, allowing him to take second base on the bounce and score three pitches later on Kinsler's single. More >
Video: DET@KC: Tigers plate first run on throwing error
"It was a late slide and hard slide," Colon said. "But after seeing it, he's just playing hard. The ball got away from me. I probably should have ate it."
QUOTABLE
"They know we're still capable. They're an extremely confident group right now. They've had an edge all year long. They played better baseball than we did in the first two games. Today, we played better baseball. That's what it boils down to." -- Price, on the Royals
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Saturday marked Price's first start ever at Kauffman Stadium. With the victory, he has now won games at 20 different Major League parks, including every park in the American League.
REPLAY REVIEW
The Tigers challenged a double play in the seventh inning when Tigers center fielder Gose, who had singled, was called out for not retouching second base after running on a fly out to center by Kinsler. Gose had retouched second base but then made a slight gesture to third and did not retouch again before returning to first base. The call on the field was a double play, and the call stood.
Video: DET@KC: Out call stands in the 7th inning
WHAT'S NEXT
Tigers: Anibal Sanchez will try for his first win since April 8 against a Royals offense he has owned since he became a Tiger in 2012. He's 5-2 with a 1.07 ERA in seven career starts against Kansas City, allowing no more than one run in each. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT.
Royals: The Royals will send out right-hander Jeremy Guthrie (1-1, 5.87 ERA) against the Tigers in the series finale. Guthrie got a big win over Detroit last Sept. 21, 5-2, that helped the Royals avoid a series sweep at home.
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