DETROIT – Mike Aviles drove in three runs, rookie Jerrod Dyson scored three times and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 9-6 on Tuesday night.
The Royals, who got three hits from Billy Butler, were aided by three errors by Detroit pitchers — one by starter Armando Galarraga and two by reliever Alfredo Figaro.
Bruce Chen (11-7) improved to 3-0 in his last five starts, allowing three runs, four hits and a walk in six innings.
Joakim Soria, the fifth Kansas City pitcher, got the last two outs for his 33rd consecutive save and 40th overall.
Galarraga (4-7), who gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings, has only won twice in 18 starts since his near-perfect game against Cleveland on June 2.
Detroit took the lead on Austin Jackson's third-inning sacrifice fly, then added two solo homers in the fourth. Ryan Raburn led off the inning with his 14th of the season, and Miguel Cabrera followed with his 35th, a 427-foot liner that cleared the first level of shrubs above the center field fence.
The Royals rallied in the fifth to take the lead. Galarraga retired the first two batters, but Dyson singled, stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on Aviles' single.
Butler followed with his third single of the game, and Wilson Betemit walked to load the bases. Kila Ka'aihue walked to drive in a run and Yuniesky Betancourt hit an infield single that Galarraga threw away, allowing a second run to score.
Butler made it 5-3 with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, and the Royals put the game away in the eighth.
Lucas May started the inning with a single, and Dyson laid down a bunt. Figaro misplayed the ball for an error, then threw it away for his second error on the play. Aviles followed with a two-run single to give the Royals a four-run lead.
Kansas City added two runs in the ninth on RBIs by May and Dyson.
In the meantime, the Tigers were held hitless from Cabrera's fourth-inning homer until five straight singles led to three ninth-inning runs.
Notes: Aviles lost control of his bat on a swing in the fifth inning and saw it fly into the Tigers dugout. The bat appeared to strike manager Jim Leyland a glancing blow before bouncing down a staircase into the tunnel leading to the clubhouse. ... Brandon Inge's infield single in the third inning was his first hit in 20 career at-bats against Chen. ... Chen came into the game with an 0-3 record and 8.05 ERA in five career outings — three starts — at Comerica Park.
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