Tigers Beat Royals, 6-1, to Avoid Sweep

[BronxBomberz]

Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez each homered and got three hits, and Jeremy Bonderman halted his six-game losing streak as the Detroit Tigers avoided a sweep Thursday with a 6-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers started the day 4 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland, which played later. Bonderman (11-7) went seven innings and gave up six hits and one run, his best outing since beating Seattle on July 13 for his previous win. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Granderson and Ordonez each homered in a four-run fifth inning for the Tigers. Ordonez had three RBIs and was 3-for-4, raising his major league-leading batting average to .359. The Tigers had won 14 of 15 at Kauffman Stadium before dropping the first two games of this series and slipping 4 1/2 back of the Indians. Royals starter Leo Nunez (2-2) went 6 1-3 innings. He was charged with six runs and 12 hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He lost for the first time in six career decisions at home. The slender right-hander struck out four straight batters before Granderson homered on a 3-1 fastball with one out in the fifth. Placido Polanco doubled and scored on Timo Perez's third double in two games before Ordonez drove a 1-1 pitch 421 feet over the fence in left for his 26th home run. Granderson had a sacrifice fly in the second inning and singled in the seventh, when he scored on a single by Ordonez that raised the slugger's RBI total to 119. The right fielder has 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 28 games in August. With runners at first and second in the seventh, Kansas City rookie Billy Buckner came in and struck out Carlos Guillen and Mike Rabelo to end the inning. Billy Butler tripled in the fourth for the Royals and scored on Alex Gordon's single. Butler also doubled in the sixth. The Tigers loaded the bases in the second with three singles and took a 1-0 lead on Granderson's sacrifice fly. Royals shortstop Tony Pena Jr. made a heads-up double play in the eighth when he caught Ramon Santiago's line drive and whipped a throw to first to double off Cameron Maybin. Notes:@ In a flurry of roster moves, the Tigers optioned rookie LHP Andrew Miller to Class-A Lakeland and recalled RHP Virgil Vasquez from Triple-A Toledo to start Friday night in Oakland. They also acquired LHP Clay Rapada from the Cubs and RHP Chris Lambert from St. Louis in the completion of earlier trades. ... The Royals last swept three at home from Detroit in April 2003. ... Bonderman is 9-5 in his career against Kansas City.

Tigers Beat Royals, 6-1, to Avoid Sweep | TuscaloosaNews.com