DETROIT (AP)– The Tigers and Royals had just about everything on Friday night.
The start of the game was delayed by 23 minutes when a light tower malfunctioned, and there was another delay in extra innings because of a problem with the mound. Detroit took a two-run lead in the eighth, only to blow it in the ninth.
Finally, the Royals took a lead in the 12th only for Dixon Machado’s bases-loaded single off Greg Holland to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory.
“That’s a couple of games where the guys have fought back, this time after being down in extra innings,” said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. “We fought back and got a great win.”
The game — which lasted 4 hours, 9 minutes — wouldn’t have been able to go much longer, as heavy rains hit Comerica Park about 20 minutes after the final out.
The Royals took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 12th after Salvador Perez singled and pinch-runner Terrance Gore stole second, took third on Jarrod Dyson’s bunt and scored on Paulo Orlando’s groundout.
“Dyson and Gore are a great pair of weapons,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “VerHagen’s delivery to the plate was 1.29 seconds, and (James) McCann’s throw was outstanding and in a perfect spot, and Gore still stole the bag and got us into scoring position.”
However, Anthony Gose led off the bottom of the 12th with a single off Holland (3-2), and after Ian Kinsler popped out, Miguel Cabrera singled and took second when no one covered the bag as Gose went to third. Holland intentionally walked J.D. Martinez to face Victor Martinez with the bases loaded.
Holland got the strikeout he needed, but walked Tyler Collins to force in the tying run. Machado then lined a 2-2 slider down the left-field line for the winning run.
“I knew I couldn’t take a deep breath when I got Victor, because if you relax in a situation like that, you are going to implode,” Holland said. “I just couldn’t consistently get the ball where I needed it in the zone, so I walk Collins and then hang a two-strike slider to Machado.”
Justin Verlander allowed one run and four hits with a walk, and has posted a 2.02 ERA in his last 11 starts. In that stretch, he has walked 14 batters and struck out 69 in 80 1/3 innings.
Ausmus pulled him to tremendous boos with a 3-1 lead and two out in the ninth after Eric Hosmer’s single. Perez crushed Alex Wilson’s second pitch for a game-tying homer.
“I’m a big believer in positive energy, and I don’t think that was a good situation to boo,” Verlander said. “We had a lot of good things going; here comes our reliever in to a bunch of boos. Obviously, they weren’t for him, but I’m a believer in positive vibes.”
Royals starter Johnny Cueto also got a no-decision, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk in seven-plus innings. He gave up a first-inning run for the fourth straight start, but settled down for his best outing since allowing one run in eight innings against the Angels on Aug. 15.
“I take a lot of pride in what I did tonight, because I threw the ball really well,” Cueto said through an interpreter. “I got myself into a rhythm and finally felt the way I’m supposed to feel out there.”
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Cabrera’s double, but he was easily thrown out at the plate by Orlando on Victor Martinez’s two-out single.
Orlando tied the game with a two-out double in the fifth, but Kinsler prevented a second run by making a sliding stop of Alcides Escobar’s grounder, then threw Escobar out from his knees.
Cueto and Verlander dueled until the bottom of the eighth, when Gose led off with a double. That brought Wade Davis into the game, and after almost hitting Kinsler with his first pitch, he allowed a single on the second.
Cabrera then lined a sacrifice fly to right, bringing home Gose with the go-ahead run. Kinsler took third when Davis threw away a pickoff attempt, and J.D. Martinez drew a walk.
Victor Martinez followed with another sacrifice fly to right, making the first run Davis had allowed in over a month, ending a string of 13 scoreless outings that started on Aug. 18.
