This was a game of total domination. The Royals scored in each of the first six innings and Yordano Ventura baffled Tiger hitters all night. That combination led to a 12-1 blow out over Detroit. The magic number to clinch the division dips into the teens following the Royals’ 81st win over the season which moves them 30-games above .500.
Ventura is picking the right time to get hot again and is proving management made the right move, signing the 24-year old as their ace. He walked one and hit a batter, but also struck out 11 for the second start in a row, matching a career high. Ventura has not allowed more than two earned runs in his last five starts, and is 6-0 since a loss on July 20 against Pittsburgh.
It’s pretty easy to pitch with a lead…and a big lead at that.
Kendrys Morales hit a three-run shot, Cheslor Cuthbert added his first career homer, and Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain also went deep as the Royals matched a season high for runs off 39-year old starter Randy Wolf. Zobrist homered in the first and Cuthbert, among the September call-ups, hit a two-run double in the second. Cain’s solo shot came in the third and a five-run fourth inning blew the game open, thanks in big part to Morales’ shot to center. Cuthbert added his two-run homer during a three-run fifth.
Watch Cain’s 458 foot shot (Video/MLB)