Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals Match Player Stats On May 30, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 30, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals left-hander Eric Skoglund permitted two hits and no runs while pitching into the seventh inning in his major league debut as Kansas City blanked the Detroit Tigers 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Skoglund (1-0) walked one and struck out five to beat Justin Verlander (4-4). Skoglund left to deafening applause when manager Ned Yost removed him with one out in the seventh.

Eric Hosmer's two-out, sixth-inning single drove in Alcides Escobar with the game's only run.

Verlander, who threw 116 pitches over seven innings, gave up one run on six hits, struck out five and walked one.

Royals relievers Peter Moylan, Mike Minor and Kelvin Herrera preserved Kansas City's one-run advantage. Herrera logged his 12th save with a perfect ninth, striking out two. Moylan struck out two on six pitches.

Skoglund walked Miguel Cabrera on a full-count pitch with two outs in the first and yielded a ground ball single to right Victor Martinez. Skoglund ended the inning by fanning J.D. Martinez for his first career strikeout.

Skoglund retired the next 14 in a row, striking out five, after Victor Martinez's single. He breezed through the first five innings on 60 pitches.

The Royals' offense, however, was stymied by Verlander for the first five innings. They managed just two hits, one failing to leave the infield, and a walk in that span.

Jorge Bonifacio doubled with two outs in the second, but Brandon Moss struck out to strand him.

Whit Merrifield drew a 12-pitch walk from Verlander to lead off the second and advanced to second on Gordon's fly out to deep center. Merrifield went no further as Verlander retired the next two batters.

Merrifield beat out a grounder to third baseman Nicholas Castellanos with two outs in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games. Gordon's grounder ended the inning.

NOTES: The Royals placed LHP Danny Duffy on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Monday, due to a strained right oblique. His roster spot was filled by LHP Eric Skoglund, who was called up from Triple-A Omaha. ... Detroit RHP Alex Wilson tossed a scoreless eighth inning. He has allowed just one earned run in his past 17 appearances. ... Royals RHP Kelvin Herrera has nine saves this month, one shy of the club record for May. ... The Royals have not listed a starter for a Sunday game against the Cleveland Indians, but manager Ned Yost said RHP Nathan Karns will not be ready to come off the disabled list and pitch that afternoon. ... Detroit rookie C John Hicks caught RHP Justin Verlander for the first time. ... 2B Dixon Machado batted leadoff for the Tigers for the first time in his 52 games in the majors. ... Tigers LHP Matt Boyd and Royals RHP Ian Kennedy are the probables Wednesday for the series finale.