Detroit Tigers rookie Keider Montero battles through seven innings in 7-1 loss to Royals
Keider Montero had a bad beginning.
Montero, a rookie right-hander making his eighth appearance for the Detroit Tigers, allowed three runs to the Kansas City Royals before recording his first out in the first inning, but he responded by not giving up another run until the seventh.
It was an impressive effort.
The Tigers, though, lost 7-1 to the Royals on Thursday in the first of four games in the series at Comerica Park. After Montero gave up four runs, right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee surrendered back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning.
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Vinnie Pasquantino, the Royals first baseman hitting .265 with 14 home runs, finished 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs. He hit a homer off Montero and Hanifee.
The Tigers (52-58) have lost seven of nine games.
The first inning was a disaster, as the first three batters reached safely: Maikel Garcia (single), Bobby Witt Jr. (walk) and Pasquantino (three-run home run). Pasquantino cranked Montero's low first-pitch slider, giving the Royals a 3-0 lead.
After that, Montero retired 18 of the next 20 batters before Michael Massey's one-out double in the seventh inning. Massey scored from second base on Freddy Fermin's RBI single, making it 4-1.
Montero, though, then retired the next two batters with groundouts to complete his outing. He allowed four runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 88 pitches.
He generated just three whiffs on 44 swings.
Montero has a 6.18 ERA in eight games (seven starts) in 2024.
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The lone run
Right-hander Seth Lugo shoved for the Royals.
He allowed one run on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts across eight innings, throwing 103 pitches.
The Tigers scored their lone run in the fourth inning, when Colt Keith and Wenceel Pérez delivered back-to-back singles. Although Justyn-Henry Malloy grounded into a force out, Bligh Madris delivered with a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
In total, the Tigers were limited to four hits.
Bobby Witt Jr.'s big swings
The Royals teed off on Hanifee in the eighth inning. With one out, Witt Jr. and Pasquantino blasted back-to-back home runs for a 6-1 advantage.
Witt tagged a 95.5 mph sinker with a 110.7 mph exit velocity for his 20th homer this season; Pasquantino clubbed an 89.7 mph sinker with a 105.6 mph exit velocity.
The homer from Witt extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
The Royals extended their lead to 7-1 in the ninth inning, when Witt ripped an RBI double off left-handed reliever Sean Guenther. His 31st double scored Kyle Isbel from first base.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers thumped early by Kansas City Royals, 7-1
