Which AL Central team should worry Detroit Tigers?
The Days of Roar podcast breaks down the competitiveness of the American League Central — and which team the Detroit Tigers should keep an eye on.
- The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-5, to open a three-game road series.
- Riley Greene, Dillon Dingler and Spencer Torkelson homered for the Tigers
- The win was the fifth straight for the Tigers, who improved to an AL-best 38-20.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Spencer Torkelson resisted temptation.
The Kansas City Royals wanted him to chase three down and away pitches out of the strike zone, just like he had so many times last season, but the new-and-improved Torkelson refused to swing at those pitches — not with a runner in scoring position and two outs in the fifth inning.
His patience paid off.
A single from Torkelson scored one of two important runs in the Detroit Tigers‘ 7-5 win over the Royals on Friday, May 30, in the first of three games at Kauffman Stadium. He hit an eighth-pitch sinker at the bottom of the zone into left field.
The Tigers (38-20) have won five games in a row.
They own MLB’s best record.
Torkelson padded the Tigers’ lead 5-3 with his RBI single in the fifth inning, and when the Royals trimmed that margin to 5-4, Torkelson extended the Tigers’ lead to 6-4 with a solo home run in the eighth.
It was a similar situation.
The Royals tried to get Torkelson to chase three down and away pitches — this time with the bases empty and no outs — but he refused to swing, putting himself in a hitter-friendly count.
His patience paid off, once again.
Torkelson crushed a seventh-pitch changeup in the middle of the strike zone for a solo home run to center field. It was his 14th homer in 56 games this season, as well as his sixth through 25 games in May.
The 25-year-old, hitting .244 with an .881 OPS, is on pace for 39 home runs and 117 RBIs this season.
Celebrate 125 epic seasons of the Tigers with our new book!
The Tigers tacked on another run with Dillon Dingler’s RBI single in the eighth, taking a 7-4 lead.
Dingler finished 3-for-3 with one walk, a homer and three RBIs.
He is hitting .303 with a .794 OPS in 42 games.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Casey Mize saved by Brant Hurter
Right-hander Casey Mize allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 3⅓ innings, throwing 79 pitches. His final line could’ve been significantly worse.
The 28-year-old exited the game with two runners in scoring position and one out in the fourth inning, replaced by left-handed reliever Brant Hurter.
Hurter was tasked with escaping the jam. He did just that, as Vinnie Pasquantino struck out and Maikel Garcia flew out — keeping the Tigers in front, 4-3.
The three runs vs. Mize: Bobby Witt Jr. hit a solo home run in the first inning, and Drew Waters hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the third inning. The homer from Witt was a 442-foot blast into one of the fountains in left-center field.
The Royals averaged a 96.8 mph exit velocity on 14 balls in play against Mize, making hard contact on his three primary pitches: four-seam fastball, splitter and slider.
Mize has a 2.82 ERA in nine starts.
Riley Greene welcomes Seth Lugo
For the Royals, right-hander Seth Lugo returned from a 17-day stint on the injured list, sidelined with a finger sprain. In 2024, the 35-year-old finished second to Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal in the American League Cy Young race.
The Tigers weren’t pleasant to Lugo in his return.
He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts across 3⅓ innings, throwing 69 pitches. The 10-year MLB veteran surrendered home runs to Riley Greene in the first inning and Dingler in the second inning.
Both homers were two-run shots.
In the first, Greene put the Tigers ahead, 2-0, when he tagged a first-pitch cutter for a 429-foot home run to right field. In the second, Dingler extended the lead to 4-1 when he ambushed a first-pitch fastball for a 394-foot homer to left field.
Greene has 13 home runs in 56 games.
This one was his longest of the 2025 season.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.