The Royals dropped a second straight game to the Tigers tonight. That guarantees the Tigers this series with one game left and the season series with four total games remaining.

What's next: The Royals conclude their three-game series against the Tigers on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Seth Lugo (8-6, 3.73 ERA) will start against fellow righty Jack Flaherty (7-12, 4.51 ERA) at Comerica Park.

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch on the bullpen: "If we were just identified ... as a ninth-inning guy, what an opportunity we would have missed..."

KC lefty Sam Long took over, so the Tigers’ righty bench was deployed. Andy Ibanez came in for Keith and promptly went yard, doubling Detroit’s lead. Torres walked, but Perez – in for Carpenter – and Greene got out to end the inning. 4-2 Tigers going into the ninth.

The Kansas City Royals first baseman circled the bases once again in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. In the ninth inning, Pasquantino belted his 27th home run of the season, this one off Tigers reliever Will Vest. This time, it was historic.

Kansas City has notched victories in his past five starts, with Wacha recording the win in his last four outings. The Royals and Wacha will look to keep both streaks going in the middle contest of a three-game series against the host Detroit Tigers on Saturday evening.

The Royals can set themselves up to attempt to steal the series tomorrow by winning tonight. The pitching matchup, perhaps more than any other this weekend, favors the Royals. Michael Wacha will pitch for KC; new Tiger Chris Paddack will go for the Motor City bunch.

The Kansas City Royals arrived at Comerica Park with renewed momentum after finishing a successful 8-2 homestand. There are a lot of words to describe the Royals’ hot stretch. Refreshing is certainly one that comes to mind. But it’s clear the Royals have more work ahead to earn a postseason berth.