Kansas City, Mo. – The Tigers under manager AJ Hinch have prided themselves on being able to shut out the noise and static and stay focused on the game at hand.
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That’s been tough to do in this recent stretch.
“We’re hearing it from everywhere,” Hinch said. “All the issues, all the injuries, all the change that’s going on around our team. ... This is a good team. We’re a little battered right now, a little beat up, and we’re having to answer a lot of questions about the frustrating side of this sport.
Gettin' Izzy wit it.#HEYHEYHEYHEYpic.twitter.com/pPHyZs4ZOG
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 9, 2026
“It’s our reality right now. Guys have to come out confident and ready to play. I try to give them a dose that reality every day. This is the challenge. It’s our time to be tested.”
Count Friday night as a continuation of the test.
The Kansas City Royals, down 3-1 in the eighth inning, tied the game in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Kyle Finnegan and then walked the Tigers' off in the ninth. With two outs, pinch-hitter Nick Loftin doubled off Brant Hurter and Kyle Isbel squirted a single through the left side of the infield.
Royals 4, Tigers 3.
Finnegan, who had allowed just one run this season in 17.2 innings, gave up the lead in three batters. A double by Michael Massey and an RBI single by Isbel made it 3-2. Isbel’s ball got by right-fielder Wenceel Perez and rolled all the way to the track.
Isbel stopped at third and scored the tying run on a single by Maikel Garcia.
Finnegan left after walking Bobby Witt, Jr.. Lefty Hurter took over and kept the game tied. He got Vinnie Pasquantino to ground into a 3-6-1 double-play with Hurter scampering over to cover first.
The Tigers were in position to win thanks to another stout pitching performance by Keider Montero.
Montero, pounding the strike zone and generating a lot of early contact from the Royals hitters, worked efficiently through six innings on 71 pitches. He yielded three hits and one run.
Jac Caglianone doubled with two outs in the second inning and scored on a single by Isaac Collins. Montero dispatched the next 12 hitters before allowing a two-out double to Witt, Jr.
Montero left a 3-1 lead to the bullpen.
Runs came begrudgingly again for the Tigers, despite base runners in every inning.
They scored first in the second inning. Riley Greene doubled off Royals’ lefty starter Kris Bubic and eventually scored on a double-play ball hit by Spencer Torkelson. The double extended Greene’s on-base streak to 19 and the Tigers’ MLB-best extra-base streak to 37 games.
The Tigers broke the tie in the sixth and it took a bit of derring-do from third base coach Joey Cora to do it.
With two outs and catcher Dillon Dingler on first, Perez lined a ball in the left-center field gap. Centerfielder Isbel did a good job cutting the ball off and got it to cutoff man Witt, Jr.,
Cora continued to wave Dingler home. Witt didn’t get a great grip on the ball but his throw still got to the plate well ahead of Dingler. But catcher Carter Jensen lost the ball as he tried to apply the tag.
That ended the night for Bubic and Torkelson greeted reliever Nick Mears with an RBI double.
The Tigers, though, were 2 for 11with runners in scoring position and lost for the fourth straight time and fall three games under .500 (18-21). Their road record is now 6-16.
This story will be updated.
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers lost to the Kansas City Royals in the opener Friday