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Author: Dave Riggert

Mustangs announce 2018 promotional schedule

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ST. JOSEPH, MO.- ​ The St. Joseph Mustangs plan to celebrate their 10th year with more promotions, giveaways and fireworks than ever before.

This summer at Phil Welch Stadium fans will be in for the most free items in a single season in team history. These giveaways are highlighted by a Phil Welch Stadium Replica on July 14th, Mustang Rally Towels on June 9th, 10th Anniversary Color Changing Cups on June 22nd and many more collectibles celebrating ten years in St. Joseph. There are so many giveaways that every Friday and Saturday game this season will feature something new.

Nightly promotions will return this season with a new addition. On Thursdays Family Night will now feature Kids Cheer Free! Fans receive up to three free kids (12 and under) GA tickets with each adult ticket purchased. Family Night will also include $1 Hot Dogs.

In addition to the Kids Cheer Free promotion, there are some other special offers for local groups this season. In what has become an annual tradition, the Mustangs are offering two free General Admission tickets for all school staff on Opening Day. The Mustangs are also extending free tickets for Military Veterans and Active Military on July 3rd and 4th.

Mustangs General Manager Ky Turner says he is excited to celebrate this season.

“We were determined this off season to make 2018 a really special year,” Turner said. “We’re lowering concession prices. We’re introducing a live stadium organ. And now we’ve added some great collectible items to our promotional calendar and an additional fireworks show. The business community has been tremendous in their support of the Mustangs, and I know guests to Phil Welch this season will enjoy the additions. But I will definitely encourage guests- you’ll want to come early this year to make sure you get these fantastic items!”

Daddy-Daughter Date Night returns on June 2nd featuring special photo opportunities with a Unicorn and on-field fireworks viewing party for Fathers and Daughters. June 30th will see the return of fan favorite Star Wars Night to Phil Welch, highlighted by a Mustangs Lightsaber
giveaway to the first 200 fans, courtesy of Schneitter Fireworks.

The Mustangs will start their MINK League title defense Wednesday, May 30th against the Midwest A’s. Mosaic Life Care Fireworks Spectacular will cap off Opening Day for the first time in team history.
For a look at the entire 2018 promotional calendar, click here.

— Mustangs Press Release —

Missouri Western salvages final game of series at Central Oklahoma

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EDMOND, Okla. – Jacob Miller pitched eight shutout innings to help Griffon Baseball (23-20, 16-14) win the second game of a doubleheader at No. 18 Central Oklahoma (31-15, 23-9) on Sunday.

Miller’s gem led to Missouri Western’s only win in the three-game series. The Griffons won game two 4-1 after the Bronchos rallied for a 5-4 win in game one of the day. Missouri Western jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game two and kept UCO off the board until the ninth. The Griffs also led 4-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth in game one before UCO scored four in the bottom half and sneaked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a failed pickoff attempt at first base.

NOTABLES

  • Miller went eight innings in game two, allowing four hits. He struck out seven and walked four
  • Nate Hunter allowed two runs through 7 1/3 in game one on six hits
  • Trevor Carroll struck out three in one inning of work in game two, but did allow one run on two hits
  • Levi Schreiner collected three hits in the doubleheader including a solo home run. He also walked once and scored a run
  • Casey Danley had his hitting streak stopped at 16 games, but did get a hit in game two and drove in two runs on the day
  • Brooks Day went 2-for-5 on the day

UP NEXT
The Griffons conclude their rivalry series with Northwest Missouri on Wednesday with a trip to Maryville for a 2 p.m. first pitch. The eight-game road streak concludes this weekend at Fort Hays State.

— MWSU Athletics —

Moustakas’ 3-run HR lift Royals past Detroit

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DETROIT (AP) — Buck Farmer kept throwing changeups to Mike Moustakas, and the Kansas City slugger eventually adjusted.

“After the first three or four, I was starting sitting on it,” Moustakas said. “Finally, he ended up leaving one up, and I was able to get a good swing on it.”

Moustakas hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Kansas City Royals outlasted the Detroit Tigers 8-5 on Sunday to earn a split of their four-game series.

Abraham Almonte hit a grand slam in the sixth to give the Royals a 5-2 lead, but Detroit tied it with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Kansas City took the lead again when Drew VerHagen (0-1) walked two batters in the seventh and Moustakas hit a drive to right off Farmer. It was the sixth pitch of the at-bat.

The Royals won for only the second time in 12 games, and Moustakas extended his hitting streak to 14.

Kevin McCarthy (1-0) became the first Kansas City reliever credited with a win this season, although that came after he let the lead slip away in the sixth. Brian Flynn pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Royals, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

Detroit starter Francisco Liriano took a no-hitter into the sixth before Whit Merrifield led off with a homer to left. With two on and one out, Alex Wilson came on in relief and walked his first batter to load the bases. Almonte followed with a drive to right for his second career grand slam .

“I came into a big spot and I didn’t do my job,” Wilson said. “There’s nothing puzzling about it — I made terrible pitches.”

Royals starter Eric Skoglund walked the first two hitters of the bottom of the sixth, then was relieved by McCarthy. Nicholas Castellanos greeted him with an RBI single, and an error by left fielder Paulo Orlando left men at second and third. One out later, JaCoby Jones hit an RBI single, and James McCann added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-all.

“It is frustrating that Frankie gave us a chance and our hitters got us right back into the game, but our bullpen couldn’t get the ball over the plate,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We had some guys who weren’t available today, so we were mixing and matching, but no matter who we bring in, we need them to throw the ball over the plate and get outs.”

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI groundout by Miguel Cabrera and a run-scoring single by Castellanos.

Castellanos had three hits.

BIG SERIES

Almonte had a big ninth-inning hit in a win Friday night, then added three more hits Saturday. He wrapped up the series in impressive fashion with his grand slam.

“I’ve been feeling better every game, every at-bat,” Almonte said. “I’m getting more confident, I’m seeing the ball better.”

STRONG HOMESTAND

Although they finished on a sour note, the Tigers went 5-3 on their homestand, averaging 6.4 runs a game.

“We need to keep playing the way we played this week,” leadoff hitter Leonys Martin said. “We’re not going to win every game, but we will give ourselves a chance. That’s all you do. Play 27 outs and make sure you have a chance.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: C Salvador Perez (left knee sprain) caught seven innings and went 3 for 4 with a homer Saturday night on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha. He went 1 for 3 as a DH on Sunday. … OF Alex Gordon (left hip tear) went 1 for 2 with two walks Saturday and 1 for 3 on Sunday. “They’re close,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said.

UP NEXT

Both teams are off Monday. The Royals begin a two-game home series against Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Kansas City sends RHP Ian Kennedy (1-2) to the mound against RHP Zach Davies (1-2). Former Royals star Lorenzo Cain plays for the Brewers now after signing with Milwaukee in January.

The Tigers begin a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, with Detroit RHP Jordan Zimmermann (1-0) facing RHP Chad Kuhl (2-1).

— Associated Press —

Griffon softball gets the No. 5 seed at MIAA Tournament, opens with Northwest

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ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western softball team will be the No. 5-seed in this week’s MIAA Softball Championships and will open postseason play with its rival Northwest Missouri State.

Missouri Western will open the postseason tournament against No. 4-seed Northwest Missouri State at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 26. The double-elimination tournament will be played at ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Griffons ended the regular season in a tie for fifth with Northeastern State, but earned the No. 5 seed by way of their regular season sweep of the RiverHawks on March 22. Missouri Western finished with a record of 24-27 with a 15-11 mark in the MIAA. Northwest Missouri went 25-17 overall and 16-10 in the MIAA. The two teams split their lone regular season doubleheader on March 27 in Maryville. MWSU took game one, 8-0 in five innings before dropping game two, 1-0.

With a win in its first game, Thursday, Missouri Western will face the winner of No. 1 Washburn versus No. 8 Emporia State at 7:30 p.m. A loss against Northwest Missouri and the Griffons will see the loser of the same game at the same time.

Tickets for the MIAA Championships are $10 for adults per day. Student tickets are $5 with children 6 and under admitted free. Gates will open Thursday at 3 p.m. with opening ceremonies at 4:30 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

Wong, DeJong homer as Cardinals sweep Reds again

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — For Miles Mikolas, throwing strikes translates to success — no matter where he’s pitching.

Mikolas, who spent the last three seasons in the Japanese Central League, tossed seven strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals completed their second sweep this season of the woeful Cincinnati Reds with a 9-2 victory on Sunday.

“I had great command over there,” Mikolas said of his stint with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. “Pitching is pitching. You throw strikes and good things will happen.”

The Cardinals have won eight of nine overall and 11 in a row over the Reds.

Cincinnati, which has lost five in a row and 13 of 14, has the worst record in the majors at 3-18. The Reds are 0-3 — all against the Cardinals — since firing manager Bryan Price and replacing him with Jim Riggleman.

St. Louis took four games last week in Cincinnati. The Cardinals’ 11-game winning streak over the Reds is their longest since winning 11 straight in 1949.

Mikolas (3-0) gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter in what he called his best outing since returning to the majors.

“His stuff just continues to get better in our eyes,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “He’s had that history of being able to be in the strike zone and that makes him efficient.”

Catcher Yadier Molina, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI, said Mikolas made his job easy.

“Everything was working,” Molina said. “I feel confident with him. I can call any pitch and he can throw it for strikes.”

Wong hit a solo homer in the second inning. DeJong added a three-run shot in the seventh. DeJong is tied for second in the NL with seven home runs.

Wong’s homer came off Luis Castillo (1-3), who allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked four.

“At the beginning of the first inning, I knew my command was not good enough,” Castillo said. “When that happens, you’ve got to go out there and compete. And that’s what I did for the rest of the game.”

The Cardinals added two runs in the third on a run-scoring infield single by Dexter Fowler, who reached base five times, and Tyler O’Neill’s sacrifice fly. It was O’Neill’s first major league RBI.

DeJong pushed the lead to 6-2 with his homer in the seventh off Kevin Quackenbush. He also hit a two-run homer in Saturday’s win.

“This series, I felt a lot more relaxed out there,” DeJong said. “The last couple of weeks, I faced some pretty good pitches.”

The Reds scored twice in the sixth. Joey Votto’s RBI infield single trimmed the deficit to 3-2.

“I can promise you this, hitters, whether the results show or not, are giving you 100 percent when they step into the batter’s box,” Riggleman said. “Their focus is going to be there. It’s just not happening right now.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP David Hernandez will likely make his second rehab appearance on Monday for Triple-A Louisville. Hernandez has been bothered by right shoulder inflammation.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday with right elbow inflammation. RHP John Brebbia was recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Brebbia made two appearances earlier in the season and did not allow a run in two innings. … OF Tommy Pham missed his third game in four days with a right groin strain. He is day-to-day.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Sal Romero (0-2, 5.75 ERA) will face RHP Mike Foltynewicz (1-1, 2.53) on Monday in the first of a four-game home series against Atlanta. Romero will be making his fifth start of the season.

Cardinals: RHP Luke Weaver (2-1, 4.22) is slated to start the first of three-game series against the Mets on Tuesday. RHP Zack Wheeler (1-1, 2.77) will start for the Mets.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City can’t build on win as they fall to Tigers Saturday 12-4

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DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers came into this season well aware of how little was expected of them.

For now, they’re hanging around the .500 mark — and maybe, just maybe, starting to win over a few fans.

Nicholas Castellanos homered and drove in three runs, and the Tigers routed the Kansas City Royals 12-4 on Saturday. Detroit is a game under .500 after winning five of six. The Tigers broke a 3-all tie with three runs in the fifth on a day when both starting pitchers were in almost constant trouble.

“Everybody had a sheet on the chair, first day of spring training. One of the media guys, people printed that 2018 Tigers will stink,” said Castellanos, whose team lost 98 games last year. “All we’re doing is going out there trying to prove people wrong.”

Mike Fiers (2-1) allowed two earned runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Tigers, and Royals starter Danny Duffy (0-3) yielded six runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Warwick Saupold pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for his first career save.

Abraham Almonte had three hits for Kansas City, which has lost 10 of 11. The Royals snapped a nine-game losing streak Friday night when they rallied in the ninth inning to salvage a split of a day-night doubleheader.

JaCoby Jones, whose home run won the first game of that doubleheader, went deep again for the Tigers on Saturday.

Castellanos finished a triple shy of the cycle. He opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first, and his two-run homer made it 3-1 in the third. The Tigers gave up two runs in the fourth, thanks in part to an error by catcher James McCann that loaded the bases with nobody out, but Detroit took the lead back for good in the fifth when Dixon Machado hit an RBI single with two outs to make it 4-3, chasing Duffy.

“He was really struggling to command his changeup, so he was grinding all day,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “When he loses that pitch, he’s only got his fastball and slider, and that means he has to be perfect with the slider. When he makes a mistake, like he does with Castellanos, it really hurts him.”

Reliever Tim Hill allowed a bunt single to Leonys Martin that loaded the bases in the fifth, then the left-hander walked Jeimer Candelario and Miguel Cabrera to force in two more runs.

Jones hit a solo shot in the sixth to give the Tigers a 7-4 lead, and Cabrera’s two-run single made it 9-4 in the seventh.

TOUGH CHALLENGE

Duffy was starting on short rest after pitching in a doubleheader Tuesday at Toronto.

“That wasn’t a problem at all. I felt better than I have on normal rest,” Duffy said. “It took a lot of preparation to get to that point, but I volunteered for that, and it didn’t bother me a bit.”

Duffy’s shaky outing, however, set the tone on a day when the Tigers had 16 hits and drew eight walks. Jose Iglesias had three hits for Detroit, raising his average to .206.

“It’s a good win for us,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “A good bounceback from last night.”

FALLING SHORT

The bunt single by Martin was the first hit allowed by Hill in eight major league appearances. He was one hitless appearance shy of tying the modern big league record, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau, distributed by the Royals.

Garry Rogenburk (1963) and Jonathan Sanchez (2006) went their first eight outings without allowing a hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Alex Gordon (left hip tear) played in the first game of his rehab assignment Friday, going 0 for 4 with a run for Triple-A Omaha. Salvador Perez (left knee sprain) went 1 for 4 in that game as a DH, and he was expected to catch Saturday night for Omaha.

UP NEXT

Detroit LHP Francisco Liriano (2-1) takes on Kansas City LHP Eric Skoglund (0-2) in Sunday’s series finale.

— Associated Press —

Missouri loses series finale against No. 10 Vandy

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – In front of a program-record crowd of 3,146 fans, Mizzou Baseball dropped the series finale against No. 10 Vanderbilt, 6-2, Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou junior starterMichael Plassmeyer, a lefty who has dominated during SEC play, got off to another good start on Saturday. However, Vanderbilt’s bats eventually found their groove and scored in four consecutive innings, including a three-spot in the sixth, to pull away from the Tigers.

After a pair of games in which Mizzou took down Vanderbilt with strong pitching and defense, the roles reversed on Saturday. Commodore starter Mason Hickman was dialed in all afternoon, lasting 7.0 innings and allowing only two unearned runs. Behind him, the Commodore defense made a handful of web gems that quieted the Mizzou offense. Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Mizzou pushed across its first runs on a two-run double by senior 2B Matt Berler.

Despite the loss that spoiled the potential series sweep, Mizzou won its first series ever against the Commodores and now sits at 8-10 in SEC play this season.

TURNING POINT

In his first start at Taylor Stadium since a five-hit complete game shutout, southpaw Michael Plassmeyer got off to a strong start on Saturday afternoon. Plassmeyer retired nine straight to start the ballgame and had three punch outs through three frame. However, Vanderbilt batters steadily found holes with base knocks as the Commodores tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth before breaking the game open with a two-run triple by 2B Ethan Paul. A sac fly a batter later gave Vanderbilt a 5-0 lead.

QUOTING MIZZOU

Head Coach Steve Bieser

“I’d say the biggest takeaway for us is that we came into a weekend series knowing that we needed to win the series, and we were able to do that. We played really clean baseball in the first two games and had some timely hitting. Today, it’s tough to beat a team like Vanderbilt three times. It’s a challenge. I knew that they were going to come out hungyry and I think they were just a little bit hungrier than we were.”

TOP TIGERS

  • Senior 2B Matt Berler roped a pair of doubles, one which scored a pair in the bottom of the seventh to pull the Tigers within four. The two-baggers were Berler’s first since March 3 against UMBC and were Mizzou’s first extra-base hits of the weekend.
  • Junior reliever Giovanni Lopez entered in the top of the eighth with the Commodores threatening. With a 6-2 lead, Vanderbilt had runners on second and third with one out when Lopez took the bump. The junior picked up a key strikeout and induced a 5-3 groundout to end the inning.

NOTES

  • With a crowd of 3,146, Mizzou set a new program regular season attendance record
  • After the loss, Mizzou is now 3-17 all-time against Vanderbilt
  • 8-6 vs. ranked opponents
  • The Tigers fall to 8-6 on Saturdays this season
  • Mizzou’s loss at Taylor Stadium was just its fourth of the season. The Tigers are now 18-4 at home
  • While they were unable to execute the series sweep, Mizzou stands at 16-11 in three game series this season
  • Mizzou is now 7-5 this April. The Tigers were 6-13 last April
  • Mizzou falls to 2-8 in games when opponents score first
  • The Tigers are now 6-8 in day games this season

UP NEXT

Mizzou will close its five-game homestand Tuesday against in-state foe Missouri State.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Molina hits go-ahead homer, Cardinals hold off Reds 4-3

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Hicks didn’t get jammed up.

The rookie St. Louis reliever got Scooter Gennett to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded, and the Cardinals held off the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Saturday.

“I just tried to stay calm and just throw every pitch to the best of my ability and just try to give my team the best chance to win,” Hicks said. “I just go out there with full confidence and do what you know how to do, what you’ve been doing your whole life.”

Star catcher Yadier Molina hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning as the Cardinals won for the seventh time in their past eight games, including six against the Reds. The Reds dropped their fourth straight, and second under interim manager Jim Riggleman, and fell to 3-17 this season.

St. Louis has won 10 in a row from the Reds dating to last season, matching its longest streak against them since 1949, when the Cardinals won 11 straight.

Hicks (1-0) recorded the final seven outs for his first career victory.

“Amazing,” Molina said of the hard-throwing Hicks. “This kid has the talent to pitch late in the game. Obviously when you throw 102 (miles per hour), you don’t have to be afraid of anything. He’s a great kid and great job for him tonight.”

Jared Hughes (0-2) gave up Molina’s sixth homer, a solo drive. The one-out shot gave Molina his 800th career RBI.

“I totally missed my spot right there,” Hughes said. “I left it up and in the middle. It was not the pitch I wanted. He doesn’t miss mistakes. He did a good job of hitting the heck out of it.”

Cincinnati scored three times in the seventh to tie it. The Reds strung together four singles and a walk in the seventh, with Gennett’s two-run hit making it 3-all. Hicks used one pitch to get Cliff Pennington to fly out, ending the inning with runners at the corners.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez pitched six scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out seven. He was pulled after 91 pitches and exited with an 18-inning scoreless streak, leaving with a 1.42 ERA.

Home runs by Paul DeJong and Dexter Fowler helped the Cardinals build a 3-0 lead through six.

Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, striking four and walking two.

“I honestly wasn’t very sharp today,” Bailey said. “I did some things that I wasn’t very happy with today. We tried to hold them the best we could. Defensively we did a good job and the offense started coming through there at the end. It was just kind of one of those days where you had to fight back and forth.

“That’s something that shouldn’t be necessarily commented on. It should just be a regular thing that you do every day. Maybe it’s a step in the right direction. But, the overall picture is we still need to do more,” he said.

DeJong hit his sixth home run in the second. Fowler’s third homer opened the sixth for the Cardinals.

BRINGING THE LEATHER

Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong sprinted into right field and had to make a full extension of his glove arm to pull in a flare from Reds OF Adam Duvall in the sixth. Wong then tossed the ball to 1B Jose Martinez to double off Gennett, who had already rounded second base.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP David Hernandez began his rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Louisville on Friday. He pitched 1/3 of an inning, giving up three hits, four earned runs and striking out one while throwing 19 pitches. He is recovering from right shoulder inflammation.

Cardinals: OF Tommy Pham was held out of the starting lineup because of flu-like symptoms and also to provide another day off to rest a sore groin. Manager Mike Matheny said Pham was available off the bench, but he did not get into the game.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Luis Castillo (1-2, 6.75) starts the final game of a three-game set in St. Louis against Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (2-0, 4.26). Castillo earned the victory in his first appearance this season, but lasted just five innings in his last two starts in which he took the loss both times. Mikolas will go for his first victory at Busch Stadium since joining the Cardinals in the offseason. He got a no-decision in his only home start this year, a 5-4 loss to Milwaukee.

— Associated Press —

Griffons drop series opener at No. 18 Central Oklahoma 5-2

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EDMOND, Okla. – Three early runs were the difference as No. 18 Central Oklahoma (30-14, 22-8) took game one of a three-game series from Missouri Western (22-19, 14-13) on Friday.

UCO scored two in the first and added another in the second on the way to a 5-2 victory. Both first inning runs were unearned. An error led to the first run and a wild pitch allowed the second. The Griffs scored their first run on a wild pitch in the fourth before Maurice Bruce made it 3-2 with a solo home run in the sixth. UCO added one in the seventh and another in the eight for insurance to stop the Griffs’ win streak at four games.

NOTABLES

  • Kellan Richards broke the MWSU single season appearances record with his NCAA-leading 28th of the season. The junior broke Eric Snider’s record set in 1985. Richards struck out the only batter he faced Friday.
  • Bruce’s home run was his second this season and first since March 18 at Southwest Baptist
  • Casey Danley extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a 1-for-4 day at the plate
  • Brooks Day went 2-for-4 and scored one of the Griffons’ runs. Day has hit safely in nine straight games and 11 of his last 12
  • Griffon batters struck out 14 times in the game

UP NEXT
Game two of the series comes Saturday at 3 p.m. in Edmond, Oklahoma.

— MWSU Athletics —

Royals snap 9-game skid, beat Tigers 3-2 to salvage split

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DETROIT (AP) — The promise of youth, and the price of inexperience.

It’s all part of the equation this year for the rebuilding Detroit Tigers.

Hours after JaCoby Jones homered in the 10th inning to give the Tigers a 3-2 victory over Kansas City, rookie first baseman Niko Goodrum dropped a grounder and made a wild throw as Detroit squandered a chance at a doubleheader sweep. The Royals scored twice in the ninth to win the second game 3-2 on Friday night, snapping a nine-game losing streak.

“I guarantee that the guys out there in the clubhouse are rallying around him, and that’s the way we’re going to do it around here — take the good with the bad,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It happens. That’s part of the game, too. You make a mistake and it ends up costing you.”

The Tigers led 2-1 in the ninth of the nightcap before pinch hitter Abraham Almonte hit a tying bloop single with one out. With runners at first and second, Jon Jay hit a grounder to Goodrum, who didn’t handle it cleanly. Goodrum then compounded his problems by flipping the ball over the head of pitcher Shane Greene (1-1), who was covering the bag. The tiebreaking run scored on that error .

“It all kind of evens out,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We haven’t been getting our fair share of the bloopers and the stuff like that. It was good that it finally came around our way a little bit and helped us win a game.”

Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth for his third save, ending Detroit’s four-game winning streak.

Jakob Junis (3-1) allowed two runs and four hits in eight innings for the Royals.

With one out in the 10th inning of the first game, the 25-year-old Jones hit a fastball from Brad Keller (0-1) deep to left and immediately put up his right index finger in celebration.

“I was worried as the ball got toward the wall, because I was going to look stupid if it didn’t go out,” he said. “That’s the best feeling in baseball.”

Joe Jimenez (2-0) pitched a scoreless 10th in the opener.

Royals starter Jason Hammel allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in nine innings in the afternoon game, matching the longest outing of his career. Tigers starter Michael Fulmer pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out four.

Alcides Escobar led off the ninth with a flyball to deep left, but Jones made a leaping catch at the wall.

Mike Moustakas homered in the first game for Kansas City, and Whit Merrifield went deep in the nightcap.

STRONG STARTS

The Royals only needed to use four pitchers in the doubleheader since Junis and Hammel pitched so deep into their games.

“That’s pretty awesome for two starters to go nine and eight innings in a doubleheader,” Junis said. “Definitely saves the bullpen for tomorrow and hopefully we get another win.”

IMPRESSIVE DAY

In addition to his game-winning homer, Jones also hit an RBI double in the first game. In the nightcap, he tripled and scored in the third inning and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

DEBUT

Tigers outfielder Mike Gerber was recalled from Triple-A Toledo to be the 26th man in the doubleheader. He made his big league debut as a pinch runner in the ninth inning of the nightcap.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Alex Gordon was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Friday night. Gordon has been out since April 10 with a left hip tear. … C Salvador Perez (knee) caught seven innings on Thursday for Double-A Memphis.

UP NEXT

Detroit sends RHP Mike Fiers (1-1) to the mound to face Kansas City LHP Danny Duffy (0-2) on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

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