Alex Avila, the No. 2 hitter, and Miguel Cabrera, now hitting fourth, both homered for the Tigers.
But that’s all the damage they did off Kennedy. He went seven strong innings. Other than the two home runs, he gave up just three well-spaced singles — two to Nick Castellanos.
Victor Martinez, the former clean-up hitter, went 1-for-4 with a single in his first game since being activated from the disabled list.
NOTABLE:
Manager Brad Ausmus had such a quick hook that reliever Warwick Saupold had only a short time to warm up in the bullpen before being summoned to the mound.
Saupold allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings of relief.
It was the first run Saupold has given up in his last six outings since June 10, covering nine innings. He allowed six hits over that span, holding opponents to a .162 batting average.
At one stretch, he retired nine straight.
Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera hit his 10th home run of the season in the sixth inning. Half of those home runs have come in the last 13 games.
Alex Avila is 3-for-16 with eight strikeouts in his career against Royals starter Ian Kennedy. All three hits are home runs, including a solo shot in the fourth inning that put the Tigers on the board Wednesday night.
Norris retired seven of the first eight men he faced before a hiccup in the third inning, allowing the opening run on back-to-back hits to open the inning. He escaped further damage with a groundball double play, but would not be as fortunate the next inning.
In the fourth, Salvador Perez hit a home run off the bricks beyond the left-centerfield fence for a two-run shot. Perez’s 16th home run traveled an estimated 451 feet. Then, Mike Moustakas hit an equally impressive home run into the right-centerfield seats.
For Norris, it was his shortest start of the season. He allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Two of those strikeouts came in the second inning, when it seemed this would be one of his good nights.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/royals-...nal,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=491269
Boxscore.
ROARS:
Miguel Cabrera: Two more hits for Miguel, who seems to be rounding into form.
Mikie Mahtook: Sure, he went 0-for-3, but he’s now the people’s champion.
Warwick Saupold: Lasted longer than the starter, which is usually a bad sign. Saupold pitched well, though.
HISSES:
Daniel Norris: Pitching line NSFW.
STATS AND INFO:
The Tigers need to go 52-33 in their final 85 games if they want to match last season’s win total.