Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals Match Player Stats On Jul 18, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 18, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Nicholas Castellanos had four hits, including a pair of home runs, and drove in five runs as the Detroit Tigers beat the fading Kansas City Royals 9-3 Tuesday night.

The four hits and five RBIs equaled career highs for Castellanos. He tripled home a pair of runs to cap off a five-run second inning. He homered off Royals starter Travis Wood (1-3) in the fifth and homered off reliever Mike Minor in the seventh. His eighth-inning two-out single scored Dixon Machado.

Castellanos has 14 home runs this year. The multi-homer game was the second of his career. His first came on Aug. 19, 2015, against the Chicago Cubs.

Justin Upton also scored in the seventh. He doubled after Castellanos' homer, stole third and scampered home on catcher Salvador Perez's throwing error.

Tigers starter Matthew Boyd, who was 0-2 with a 13.17 ERA in his first four career starts at Kauffman Stadium, got the win.

Boyd (3-5) yielded three runs on four hits, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly in the first. He settled down after that and pitched five scoreless innings before handing off a five-run lead to the bullpen after six innings. Boyd, who was just recalled from Triple-A Toledo, allowed three runs and seven hits.

Before the game, the Tigers traded right-fielder J.D. Martinez, who was hitting .305 with 16 home runs, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for three minor league prospects. However, Detroit did not miss his bat Tuesday as it bashed 16 hits, including seven for extra bases.

The Tigers (43-49) have won four straight, matching their longest winning streak of the season. The Royals (45-47) have lost seven of eight.

The Royals quickly scored three runs in the first inning, sending eight men to the plate. The scoring started when Eric Hosmer's ground ball single up the middle brought home Whit Merrifield, who was hit by a Boyd pitch to lead off the inning.

Perez's sacrifice fly knocked in Lorenzo Cain with the next run. Alcides Escobar's two-out single scored Hosmer to make it 3-0.

That lead evaporated quickly in the second inning when the Tigers batted around and scored five runs on six hits off Wood, who was making his second start after beginning the season in the bullpen.

Miguel Cabrera opened the inning with a ground ball single that rookie second baseman Ramon Torres should have caught. Cabrera halted at third on Mikie Mahtook's double. Victor Martinez, who had three RBIs in the victory Monday, drove in both with a ground ball single to center.

Machado's sacrifice fly to Merrifield in right field scored Martinez.

Castellanos' triple, which glanced off the glove of Merrifield as he attempted to make a sliding catch, scored Alex Pressley and Ian Kinsler, making it 5-0.

Castellanos homered, his 13th, to left in the fourth. Wood left giving up six runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

NOTES: The deal that sent OF J.D. Martinez to the Arizona Diamondbacks netted the Tigers three prospects: 3B Dawel Lugo, switch-hitting SS Sergio Alcantara and 18-year-old SS Jose King. The Tigers recalled OF Jim Aduci from Triple-A Toledo. ... The Tigers optioned LHP Blaine Hardy to Triple-A Toledo to make roster room for LHP Matthew Boyd, who was recalled from the Mud Hens and started Tuesday. ... SS Alcides Escobar, who left after being hit in the left wrist by a pitch Monday, was in the Royals' lineup, making his club-record 263 consecutive start. ... Tigers RHP Justin Verlander and Royals RHP Jason Hammel are the pitching probables for Wednesday.