The Kansas City Royals are doing their best to prevent another 100-loss season. On Tuesday they topped 5-4 and 4-2 in a double header with the Tigers.
Mike Sweeney’s two-out RBI double to score Aaron Guiel, broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Royals the win. Sweeney also drove in a run in the first inning with a sacrifice fly.
Matt Stairs capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the first with a two-run double and Kansas City led 3-0.
Royals Starter J.P. Howell gave up two runs in the second inning and was charged with two more in the fifth inning, which allowed the Tigers to tie the game at 4-4.
Mike MacDougal (4-5) got the win in relief.
In the second game, the Royals scored runs in the first, second, third and fifth innings to take a 4-2 victory. Sweeney and Donnie Murphy drove in runs with sacrifice flies in the first and second, while Emil Brown and Chip Ambres hit solo home runs in the third and fifth. It was Brown’s 15th and Ambres’ third.
Starter Zack Greinke (5-16) got the win by pitching seven innings and giving up two runs off six hits, no walks and four strikeouts. Greinke is 2-0 in his last four starts.
MacDougal got his 20th save by working the ninth inning.