KANSAS CITY -- If the Tigers are going to make a strong finishing push through September, they’ll need to bank on a solid starting rotation behind ace left-hander Tarik Skubal. That’s where Jack Flaherty figures heavily into the equation.
After a rocky outing against the Royals on Aug. 24 when he allowed seven consecutive hits at one juncture, the good Flaherty was back on Saturday against that same Kansas City team. Flaherty worked a solid 5 2/3 innings in a 3-1 loss, allowing just one run on four hits. It was the kind of outing Detroit hopes to see on a consistent basis down the stretch as the Tigers go for an American League Central title.
Flaherty’s start gave the Tigers a chance to win, but Bobby Witt Jr. snapped a 1-1 tie in the eighth with a two-run homer to center off Tyler Holton for the winning margin.
Flaherty threw 101 pitches and his only real glitch was surrendering a solo homer to Maikel Garcia in the fourth.
“Today was a good step forward,” Flaherty said. “That’s what it is supposed to look like. The last time against them, I felt like I was searching instead of just being in sync and competing and finding ways to attack guys.”
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch liked what he saw from Flaherty in a bounce-back effort. Six days earlier, the Royals had racked up 10 hits and eight runs against Flaherty in five-plus innings.
“He was really good,” Hinch said of Flaherty. “He did have a little extra today, probably because he faced these guys before and had a rough game. He was very convicted in his pitches. I thought it was the best fastball he has had in awhile and he carried it through the outing. The use of both breaking balls was really good and he tried to force the changeup in there, which was a good sign.”
The Tigers hit several balls sharply against Royals emergency starter Stephen Kolek. But they had only a Gleyber Torres RBI single in the third to show for it. For the second night in a row, it came down to a bullpen game. Detroit won the reliever battle on Friday, but Kansas City had the upper hand on Saturday.
With one out in the eighth, Holton walked pinch-hitter Tyler Tolbert. Then Witt produced the game-winning homer, a blast that cleared the center-field wall.
“I never like it when Bobby Witt Jr. comes up to bat,” Hinch said. “I think the walk before [Witt’s at-bat] created a little bit of energy in the ballpark. [Holton] went up but didn’t quite get it higher than high. Bobby is a terrific player. Credit to him.”
Detroit still has an 8-1/2 game lead over second-place Kansas City in the AL Central and the Tigers will try to win the series on Sunday with Skubal on the mound.
The Tigers had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the seventh when they put runners at second and third with one out in a 1-1 game. Trey Sweeney flied out to short right field and pinch-hitter Zach McKinstry bounced out.
“We swung the bats better than the scoreboard indicated,” Hinch said. “But the scoreboard tells the story at the end of the day. We couldn’t really push anything across. When we had the chance to separate, to put a little more pressure on them, we couldn’t quite do it.”