DETROIT — Bobby Witt Jr. delivered a clutch sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to push the Kansas City Royals past the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a six-game losing streak and salvaging the final game of a tough road trip.
With the game tied at 3-3, Drew Waters started the extra frame at second base as the automatic runner. Jonathan India’s groundout moved him to third, and Witt followed with a 280-foot fly ball to left. Waters dove headfirst across home plate just ahead of a strong throw from Riley Greene, giving Kansas City the lead.
Carlos Estévez (1-0) sealed the win in the bottom half of the 10th. After an intentional walk to Greene put runners on the corners with two outs, Estévez retired Dillon Dingler on a popup to end the game.
The Royals wrapped up a grueling 2-8 road trip and now sit at 9-14 on the season. Detroit, which had won three straight heading into Sunday’s finale, fell to 12-11.
Kansas City jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with RBI singles from Hunter Pasquantino and Waters in the second inning. Detroit responded in the fifth with back-to-back two-out RBI singles from Kerry Carpenter and Zach McKinstry to tie the game.
McKinstry struck again in the seventh with another run-scoring single, ending Daniel Lynch IV’s impressive scoreless streak at 31 innings. However, the Royals got a break in the eighth when Mark Canha’s RBI single tied the game after Witt reached second on a throwing error by Tigers third baseman Javier Báez.
The Royals also escaped a major jam in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Salvador Perez fielded Greene’s grounder and started a 3-2-3 double play to end the inning.
Detroit starter Tarik Skubal allowed two runs and seven hits over five innings. He remains dominant at home, now 11-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 18 home starts since the beginning of the 2024 season. Royals starter Michael Wacha gave up two runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter exited after the eighth inning due to right hamstring soreness.
The Royals return to Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to open a homestand against the Colorado Rockies. Left-hander Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.88 ERA) will take the mound for Kansas City against Rockies righty Ryan Feltner (0-1, 4.82 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. on SuperStar Country 102.5 FM and 1530 AM, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
