Cabrera, Boyd lead Tigers to outlast over Royals

Miguel Cabrera had three hits and an RBI, Matthew Boyd struck out nine over seven innings, and the host Detroit Tigers held off the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Friday. Ronny Rodriguez had two hits, a run scored and two RBIs for the Tigers, while Nicholas Castellanos scored twice. Boyd (3-2) gave up two runs on five hits, while Shane Greene recorded his 13th save in as many opportunities despite allowing a Jorge Soler homer.

Soler paced Kansas City's attack with three hits and two RBIs. Jorge Lopez (0-3) gave up four runs on five hits in seven innings. Detroit began a six-game homestand and a stretch of 16 out of 20 games at Comerica Park.

The Tigers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first. Jeimer Candelario, who has reached safely in 16 consecutive games, walked on four pitches and moved up on Castellanos' single. Cabrera knocked in Candelario with a single and Castellanos scored on Rodriguez's fielder's choice. Rodriguez advanced to third on Gordon Beckham's single and scored on a wild pitch. Detroit tacked on a run in the third. Castellanos led off with a walk, moved up on a Cabrera single and scored on Rodriguez's double.

Kansas City made it 4-2 in the fourth. Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch and reached third on Hunter Dozier's single. Soler followed with a sacrifice fly and Kelvin Gutierrez ripped an RBI triple. Boyd then struck out the next two batters. Both starting pitchers settled in from that point as the next three innings were scoreless.

Tigers setup man Joe Jimenez struck out two batters during a 1-2-3 eighth. Detroit loaded the bases against Wily Peralta in the bottom of the inning. Peralta escaped the jam by inducing Grayson Greiner to hit into a double play. Soler made it a one-run game in the ninth with his blast over the left-centre field fence off Greene. Pinch-hitter Ryan O'Hearn drilled a two-out double, but Greene retired Martin Maldonado on a popup to end the game.

(With inputs from agencies.)