Bobby Witt Jr. produced his first career four-hit game as the Kansas City Royals completed a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Detroit Tigers with a 7-3 win on Monday night.
The Royals won the first game 3-1.
Kansas City had rookies in the top three spots in the lineup for the first time since 1999 — MJ Melendez, Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino — and they reached base eight times in the first three innings with five hits and three walks. They finished 7-for-11 with four RBIs, three walks and three runs.
Angel Zerpa (1-0), the Royals’ third pitcher, earned his first major league victory after throwing two scoreless innings in relief.
Daniel Lynch, back after spending 2 1/2 weeks on the injured list due to a blister on his left index finger, came out after allowing a hit to the first batter in the fifth inning. He gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out three.
Detroit starer Alex Faedo (1-5) gave up four runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He walked four and fanned two.
The Tigers matched their run total from the first game after three pitches. Robbie Grossman reached on an error on third baseman Emmanuel Rivera leading off. Javier Baez then hit an RBI double that one-hopped the center field wall.
The Royals answered in the bottom of the first, but they could have had more. Melendez, becoming the first Royals catcher to hit in the leadoff position, drew a walk. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Witt. However, Kansas City left the bases loaded when Kyle Isbel lined out to end the inning.
The Royals challenged Faedo again in the second. Nicky Lopez and Melendez hit one-out singles. Witt followed with another RBI hit, this time a single up the middle. The Royals loaded the bases with one out, and Faedo’s night was done after 60 pitches. Ryan O’Hearn greeted reliever Tyler Alexander with a two-run single.
The Royals added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Melendez.
In the fourth, Detroit’s Jeimer Candelario hit a one-out RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-2. Miguel Cabrera drove in Baez with an RBI double in the fifth.
The score stayed at 5-3 until the eighth inning, when Witt’s fourth hit drove in Rivera. Lopez subsequently scored on a wild pitch.
–Field Level Media
