Royals 6, Tigers 2: Tigers still can’t solve Jake Junis

The Detroit Tigers were stymied once again by Kansas City Royals starter Jakob Junis as he threw his first complete game and beat the Tigers on Tuesday, 6-2. Matthew Boyd got roughed up in the third inning as the Royals batted through the lineup to score five runs. The only Tigers scoring came from a Jeimer Candelario sacrifice fly and a JaCoby Jones home run.

Junis entered the night 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings pitched against the Tigers in 2018. He would end the night rewarded with his first career complete game. The Tigers simply had no answer for him, and his offense put him early as he dazzled for nine innings. Junis’ final line was excellent: nine innings pitched, six hits, two runs allowed, no walks, and seven strikeouts. The only runs the Tigers would score came on a third inning sacrifice fly from Candelario — which initially put the Tigers on top, 1-0 — and a late eighth inning solo home run from JaCoby Jones, just recalled from Triple-A Toledo after completing his rehab assignment.

Boyd cruised through the first two innings but ran into trouble in the third. He gave up a solo home run, then allowed a steady parade of baserunners and hard contact. The Royals sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs to put the game out of reach early. Boyd managed to recover to pitch six innings, but his final line was ugly: five runs allowed on seven hits, with three walks and four strikeouts. The Royals would add on one more run late in the bottom of the seventh off Drew VerHagen. Alex Wilson pitched a clean bottom of the eighth.

The Tigers will try to salvage a series split tomorrow afternoon. Michael Fulmer will start against Danny Duffy before Detroit heads off to New York City for a four-game series with the Yankees.