An absolute wild one went down Sunday, but the sting was the same: the Tigers got swept out of Kauffman Stadium, falling 11-7 to the Royals in a game where their bullpen got absolutely shelled. Kansas City just teed off, especially on poor Andrew Sears in his major league debut. Talk about a trial by fire, yikes! Credit where it’s due, the Tigers offense wasn’t mailing it in, they kept punching back repeatedly, but man, it just wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Royals’ relentless attack.
Offense Shows Grit, Then Javy Báez Happens
Gleyber Torres, rocking the leadoff spot, kicked things off right, ripping a solid single to get on base. Hao-Yu Lee flew out against lefty Daniel Lynch IV, but then Kevin McGonigle stepped up. He nearly lost his helmet to a nasty Lynch fourseamer on an 0-2 count, then channeled that anger into an absolute missile to the right-center wall. And Torres, not exactly known for his blazing speed, hustled all the way home from first! That’s heart, man, that’s what you love to see, giving the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead. Eduardo Valencia flew out, advancing McGonigle to third, but then Lynch blew away Torkelson with a high fastball to end the threat. In the second, Corey Julks led off by flicking a weak liner into center for a single, and Max Clark lined a sharp single to right after working a full count. But then, classic Javy Báez of late, he pulled a grounder right into a soul-crushing 6-4-3 double play to kill the rally. Ugh, you just knew it was coming.
Bullpen Meltdown: A Steal From 2021!?
Jacob Waguespack took the mound as an opener, and after retiring Nick Loftin and Bobby Witt Jr., he jammed Vinnie Pasquantino, who blooped a little flare Torres grabbed. Not a bad start, right? Then came the bottom of the second, and things went sideways fast. Sal Perez dumped a single, and after Isaac Collins blew a challenge on an edge strike and whiffed, the unbelievable happened: Perez, who hasn’t stolen a base since *2021*, just waltzed into second! Waguespack looked totally lost, paid him no attention, and Valencia seemingly fumbled the ball or something. What was that, dude? Talk about catching everyone napping! Waguespack then walked the weak-hitting John Rave, ending his outing. Ty Madden came in rather than Sears, and immediately dug the hole deeper by hitting Tyler Tolbert. The Royals were just pouring it on.
This bullpen needs to get it together fast if they want to hang in there this early in the season. Every game counts, and these kinds of showings can’t become a trend. They’ll need to shake off this sweep and figure out how to stop the bleeding, especially with the Royals looking dangerous.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bless You Boys.
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