Tigers 3, Royals 2 Snap Reaction: Brandon Inge homers (!) in Detroit victory

Snap Reaction: The Detroit Tigers are trolling us back. Brandon Inge hit a 2-run, difference-making home run on Monday as the Tigers beat the Royals, 3-2. (Sunday, Gerald Laird hit a home run of his own.)

It was a typical Justin Verlander game. The Tigers didn't score all that many runs. The opponents scored even fewer for the first eight innings. We saw that pattern against the Red Sox (2-0 lead after eight innings) and the Rays (2-0 lead after eight innings).

Austin Jackson hit a leadoff home run to give Detroit a 1-0 edge, but the Royals knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning when Billy Butler knocked in Alex Gordon.

Inge broke the tie in the fifth inning with a two-run, one-out knock that also brought Jhonny Peralta home.

Then the scoring ceased. Sure you''d like to see more scoring out of the Tigers, but as long as Verlander managed to avoid the late-game hiccups it really didn't matter.

Fortunately, the Tigers got the win. Unfortunately, the hiccups continued. Verlander allowed a leadoff single to eventually score to make it a one-run game. He threw the complete game, despite a pitch count that jumped to 131 pitches after Verlander allowed the bases to be loaded with a second single, walk and a hit batter. He struck out Alex Gordon looking with a 100 mph fastball on his final pitch to close out the game.

Many fans were not alive to witness it. (We think.)

One issue for concern: The middle of the Tigers' batting order did little again. The 3 through 6 batters in the order went hitless. Miguel Cabrera was 0-for-3 to stretch his hitless streak to 21 at bats across five consecutive games. However, he did draw a walk. Prince Fielder also went 0-for-3 with a walk, while Delmon Young and Ryan Raburn were both 0-for-4.

Detroit's record is now 7-3.