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Saturday, Jul. 1 8:05pm ET
Tigers rally with two in ninth inning | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Royals will hear no excuses from Ricky Bottalico. "I messed up the game for the whole team," the troubled reliever said Saturday night after Detroit scored two in the ninth to beat Kansas City 8-7. "The ninth inning was a joke." Down 6-0 in the sixth, the Royals capped a comeback when Jorge Fabregas hit a solo home run off Doug Brocail (4-3) in the eighth for a 7-6 lead. Then Bottalico (7-2), who has blown six saves in 11 opportunities, came out of the bullpen and gave up singles to Tony Clark and Dean Palmer on his first two pitches. Rob Fick's RBI single tied it, then Brad Ausmus drew a bases-loaded walk from Bottalico to force in the winning run. "You get runners at first and second with no out, you know you've got a good chance to at least get the tying run in," said Palmer, who was 3-for-4 with three RBI. "It's always key getting the first guy on." Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his league-leading 22nd save. "We get a lead and I go in and all hell breaks loose," Bottalico said. "I was on a little roll, but it didn't carry over to tonight. I didn't feel crisp." Palmer and Bobby Higginson each hit their 16th home runs as the Tigers mounted a six-run lead in the sixth. Palmer, a former Kansas City third baseman, hit a 416-foot solo homer off Jeff Suppan in the second and added a two-run single in the four-run third. Then Higginson's two-out shot put the Tigers on top 6-0 in the sixth. Brian Moehler took a shutout into the sixth but left with one out after up giving up RBI singles to Mike Sweeney, Jermaine Dye and Joe Randa. Danny Patterson came in and got Carlos Beltran to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play. In the seventh, Dave McCarty's pinch RBI single made it 6-4. Brocail was called for a balk, sending Johnny Damon trotting home from third. Dye then tied it with a sacrifice fly. Sweeney had four hits, one night after getting three, and raised his RBI total to 75. Suppan, who gave up only one hit in nine innings in the Royals' 4-1, 11-inning victory over the Tigers on May 8, pitched 3 2/3 innings. He allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk. Ausmus had a sacrifice fly in the third for Detroit and Juan Gonzalez drove in a run with the second of his three singles. The Royals had Sweeney on first with two outs in the ninth but Dye was called out on a checked-swing third strike. "I never blame umpires for losses," Royals manager Tony Muser said. "I don't think he swung. But it doesn't matter what I think." Game notesRoyals 3B Randa made one of the best defensive plays in Kauffman Stadium this year, running in to scoop up Juan Encarnacion's bunt and making a powerful, accurate, off-balance throw to nip him by a step. ... Before the game, former manager Whitey Herzog and former outfielder Willie Wilson were inducted into the Royals' hall of fame. "I hate to spoil Whitey's night. I'm a Whitey fan," said Tiger manager Phil Garner. "But I'm a Tiger fan, too." ... The Tigers have hit 36 home runs in their last 17 games. ... A boy about 12 years old was struck on the arm or leg when Tony Clark's bat went flying into the fourth row behind first base. The child was crying but did not appear seriously hurt as he walked to the first aid station. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Detroit Clubhouse Kansas City Clubhouse RECAPS Chi. White Sox 7 Boston 2
Detroit 8
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