DETROIT -- On a day when the Motor City celebrated a baseball-football doubleheader downtown, the Tigers moved closer to their goal line of the American League Central lead with a crushing drive in the third inning. Nick Castellanos' two-run double highlighted a six-run, eight-hit barrage off Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie, giving the Tigers an advantage they eventually held on to for a 9-5 victory on Monday afternoon at Comerica Park. 
The win -- the 9,000th in franchise history -- moved Detroit within a game of Kansas City atop the division with two games left in the series and five contests remaining between the two clubs. The Tigers will send Max Scherzer to the mound Tuesday night with a chance to grab a share of the Central lead for the first time since Aug. 10.Another inning like Monday's third would go a long way toward that. However, the Tigers seem to save their eight-hit innings for when Guthrie is on the mound.While the eruption tied their season high for hits in an inning, the Tigers have now done it three times this season. Their previous one happened at Kansas City on July 10, a game that Guthrie started but left with just two of the eight hits allowed.This time, Guthrie suffered through them all. He didn't get much help from his defense, a fate most apparent in the double error on Eric Hosmer that turned what would've been an inning-ending groundout with the bases loaded into the first two runs of the game in the second.However, Guthrie also induced just two swings and misses during the 10-batter, 27-pitch, third-inning hit parade that chased him from the game and put the Tigers back on top for good.Torii Hunter's ground ball deep into the hole at shortstop led off a string of three straight singles to begin the frame, including a Victor Martinez RBI single off a diving Hosmer. Guthrie recovered with a potential double-play grounder from J.D. Martinez, but Omar Infante could only get the forceout at second.Three consecutive doubles from Don Kelly, Castellanos and Alex Avila -- all hit down the lines -- plated a combined three runs for a 7-2 Tigers lead. Once Hunter, batting for the second time in an inning, singled in Avila, the Tigers had a six-run inning, and Royals manager Ned Yost had to pull Guthrie (10-11) with 10 hits allowed over 2 2/3 innings.As bizarre as the inning was, it followed the playbook for beating the Royals -- posting early damage off their starters so their league-best bullpen has no chance to protect a lead. Though Royals relievers followed with four scoreless innings from there -- which allowed Kansas City to eat into the lead and make it an 8-5 game -- Miguel Cabrera singled in Torii Hunter for an insurance run in the eighth.Justin Verlander (13-12), who fell victim to a two-run, two-out bloop single in shallow center field with Kelly playing back in the third inning, retired 10 of his next 12 batters through the sixth. Two runs scored in the seventh, including Lorenzo Cain on an inside-the-park home run when Kelly and Hunter collided in right-center.Jason Beck / MLB.com
The win -- the 9,000th in franchise history -- moved Detroit within a game of Kansas City atop the division with two games left in the series and five contests remaining between the two clubs. The Tigers will send Max Scherzer to the mound Tuesday night with a chance to grab a share of the Central lead for the first time since Aug. 10.Another inning like Monday's third would go a long way toward that. However, the Tigers seem to save their eight-hit innings for when Guthrie is on the mound.While the eruption tied their season high for hits in an inning, the Tigers have now done it three times this season. Their previous one happened at Kansas City on July 10, a game that Guthrie started but left with just two of the eight hits allowed.This time, Guthrie suffered through them all. He didn't get much help from his defense, a fate most apparent in the double error on Eric Hosmer that turned what would've been an inning-ending groundout with the bases loaded into the first two runs of the game in the second.However, Guthrie also induced just two swings and misses during the 10-batter, 27-pitch, third-inning hit parade that chased him from the game and put the Tigers back on top for good.Torii Hunter's ground ball deep into the hole at shortstop led off a string of three straight singles to begin the frame, including a Victor Martinez RBI single off a diving Hosmer. Guthrie recovered with a potential double-play grounder from J.D. Martinez, but Omar Infante could only get the forceout at second.Three consecutive doubles from Don Kelly, Castellanos and Alex Avila -- all hit down the lines -- plated a combined three runs for a 7-2 Tigers lead. Once Hunter, batting for the second time in an inning, singled in Avila, the Tigers had a six-run inning, and Royals manager Ned Yost had to pull Guthrie (10-11) with 10 hits allowed over 2 2/3 innings.As bizarre as the inning was, it followed the playbook for beating the Royals -- posting early damage off their starters so their league-best bullpen has no chance to protect a lead. Though Royals relievers followed with four scoreless innings from there -- which allowed Kansas City to eat into the lead and make it an 8-5 game -- Miguel Cabrera singled in Torii Hunter for an insurance run in the eighth.Justin Verlander (13-12), who fell victim to a two-run, two-out bloop single in shallow center field with Kelly playing back in the third inning, retired 10 of his next 12 batters through the sixth. Two runs scored in the seventh, including Lorenzo Cain on an inside-the-park home run when Kelly and Hunter collided in right-center.Jason Beck / MLB.com
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