Tigers, Royals resume set at Comerica Park
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The Detroit Tigers try to strengthen their lead atop the game set with the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.
The Tigers picked up a much-needed win on Tuesday, as Ramon Santiago's home run in the 10th inning gave Detroit a dramatic 2-1 win.
Joaquin Benoit (4-3) kept the Royals off the board in the ninth and 10th frames, and Santiago stepped in against Aaron Crow (3-4) and finished off the visitors with his fourth home run of the season.
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"I knew I hit it pretty good," Santiago said. "I'm going to enjoy it."
Santiago entered as a pinch-runner for Magglio Ordonez in the eighth inning after he knocked in Ryan Raburn with the tying run.
Detroit snapped a two-game slide, but still leads the division by five games over the red-hot Chicago White Sox, who have won five in a row and will visit the Tigers this weekend.
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The ending overshadowed a pitching clinic by starters Doug Fister and Jeff Francis.
The Royals pounded out 18 hits in a 9-5 win in Monday's opener, but went down in order against Fister in each of the first six innings on Tuesday.
"He had no-hit stuff," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Fister. "He was nasty."
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Hoping to make it two straight wins tonight the Tigers will hand the ball to righty Rick Porcello, who is 12-8 with a 5.01 ERA. Porcello won for the first time in five starts on Friday in Minnesota, as he limited the Twins to a run and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.
"I think he's in a little bit of a hurry, I think he's a little anxious," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "But he finally did settle in, slowed down a little bit and got much more effective once he did that."
Porcello is 4-2 in 10 starts against the Royals with a 4.65 ERA.
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Kansas City, meanwhile, will hand the ball to right-hander Nate Adcock, who will be making a spot start in place of Felipe Paulino. Paulino was scratched earlier on Wednesday because of back spasms.
Adcock has appeared in 21 games (two starts) this season and is 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA.
Detroit is 9-5 this season versus the Royals.