Detroit’s Alex Gonzalez drove in the winning run with a single to left off Royals closer Greg Holland in the ninth inning as the Tigers win 4-3 on Opening Day over the Kansas City Royals.
Gonzalez made up for an error in the fourth inning which helped give the Royals a 3-1 lead. Justin Verlander allowed three runs, two earned, in six innings and Victor Martinez homered for the Tigers off Royals starter James Shields, who allowed three runs and five hits in 6.1 innings.
Salvador Perez had four hits for the Royals. Perez tied it at 1-1 with a one-out RBI double off Verlander, and Lorenzo Cain slapped an RBI single through the hole into left field to put Kansas City ahead. After a two-out walk, Gonzalez bobbled Nori Aoki’s slow grounder for an error that loaded the bases. Verlander walked former Tiger Omar Infante to force in the third run.
