Royals star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had his 15-game hitting streak halted on Saturday night, and he’ll look to start a new one Sunday afternoon when Kansas City wraps up a four-game series at Detroit.
Witt went 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly as Kansas City had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 6-5, 11-inning loss to the Tigers. Witt is still hitting a robust .345 to lead the majors and is a serious candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player award.
“He’s the face of baseball moving forward, or at least part of the face along with a lot of other good players, and I don’t say that lightly,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He can hit, he gets on base, he’s got power, he’s got speed. He’s a generational player for a reason. All those qualities equal a problem moving forward for anybody that plays the Royals.”
Witt, 24, has 20 homers and 79 RBIs this season to go with his high batting average.
Michael Wacha will start the series finale for the Royals on Sunday. The right-hander hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his past 12 outings.
In two of his past three starts, Wacha (8-6, 3.58 ERA) had the good fortune of facing the woeful Chicago White Sox, capturing a pair of wins. He pitched seven scoreless innings on July 19, then held the White Sox to two runs and five hits on Tuesday.
Wacha has split his two decisions against the Tigers this season. Detroit recorded a 4-1 victory on April 28, when Wacha allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. In an 8-3 Kansas City triumph on May 20, Wacha limited the Tigers to two runs and six hits in seven innings.
He’s 2-1 with a 3.21 ERA in five career outings against Detroit.
The Tigers hadn’t named a starting pitcher as of Sunday morning, but left-hander Brant Hurter is expected to make his major league debut at some point during the contest.
Hurter has appeared in 19 games with Triple-A Toledo, including 18 starts. He’s 2-4 with a 5.80 ERA and allowed 82 hits in 71 1/3 innings while recording 70 strikeouts.
Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday with a big boost from center fielder Parker Meadows, who was activated from the injured list earlier in the day He made a crucial sliding catch in the 10th inning, then hit a game-tying triple in the 11th. Meadows scored the game-winning run on Wenceel Perez’s single.
Meadows, who was sidelined by a hamstring strain, might sit out Sunday’s contest.
“We’re excited to get him back,” Hinch said. “I’ll probably give him the day game off, and we’ll ease him into the more everyday role. … It’s nice to see him walk through the door and be ready to play.”
Vinnie Pasquantino hit his fourth homer in four games for the Royals. Paul DeJong homered for the first time since he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline. It was his 19th homer of the season and temporarily gave the Royals the lead in the seventh inning.
“He just hung a splitter, and I was able to hit a nice line drive,” DeJong said. “And, you know, short porch down the left-field line and got out. That was nice for me to be able to contribute like that in that moment.”
–Field Level Media
