Entering Wednesday, that was the Royals’ record in 2022 when trailing after the first inning.
By the end of the afternoon, that streak was no longer.
Following Detroit claiming a one-run lead in the first inning against Brady Singer, the Royals’ starter bounced back and the offense put together a four-run fourth inning for a 5-2 win at Kauffman Stadium, finishing the seven-game homestand 5-2 against Cleveland and Detroit.
“Everybody’s excited about the way guys have gone about it,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We’ve seen a number of players, especially the young guys, being able to make their mark. Veteran players, too. Everybody’s putting their piece in. You sense the confidence. We’ll talk about this as long as the game’s played. As long as guys can continue to have some success that builds their belief in themselves and each other, it just creates a better atmosphere.
“That’s what they did today. It was fun to finish off a really good homestand.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Royals’ streak of 23 straight losses to start the season when trailing after the first inning is the longest such losing streak to start a season in the modern era (since 1900). Two teams prior to 1900 had longer such losing streaks to start a season.
Only five teams in the modern era had a 23-game losing streak of that kind at any point in a season.
The Tigers’ lead was small enough that a resurgent Royals’ offense was able to tie it with Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI double in the fourth inning, and then overcome it with RBIs from Nicky Lopez and Edward Olivares as they batted around. An RBI triple from Hunter Dozier in the fifth extended the lead.
Singer took it from there. The right-hander didn’t have strong command from the start, loading the bases in the first inning. After striking out Harold Castro, the Tigers scored on a sacrifice fly. But that was all, as Singer got Jeimer Candelario to fly out to end the frame.
“A lot of big jams I had to get out of,” Singer said. “That was something I’m happy with, getting out of those. Command was tough today. I didn’t have it. A lot of walks. I made some really good pitches when I needed to. Defense helped me out a lot, quite a few double plays. The throw by Oli was unbelievable. Definitely a different one, tough, but grinded through it.”
The Royals’ infield made double plays in the second and third inning, and when Singer put runners on in the fourth, Olivares nabbed Jonathan Schoop at home on Candelario’s single to right. Catcher MJ Melendez applied the tag perfectly, enough for the original call of safe to be overturned.
Singer’s final jam came in the sixth, when he loaded the bases with one out. He was nearly at his pitch count, and lefty Amir Garrett was warming. When Singer struck out Spencer Torkelson, Matheny had a decision to make: Let Singer face lefty Akil Baddoo, or bring in Garrett?
Matheny opted for the former.
Singer struck out Baddoo swinging on a slider to end his outing at 105 pitches, with one run allowed in six innings.
“Definitely was tired,” Singer said. “Bending over breathing there for awhile. But I’m glad Skip left me in the game, let me have those at-bats there. It was good to have that.”
It didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates, either.
“That last inning, I’m sure, when you get to two outs and bases loaded, there was a decision to make there from Skip,” Andrew Benintendi said. “Left him in there, and Brady got the job done.”
Singer, who allowed the leadoff man to reach in five of six frames and yielded 12 baserunners, now has a 3.82 ERA in 11 starts since rejoining the Royals’ rotation on May 11. The 25-year-old is 5-0 in nine career starts against Detroit — 38.5% of Singer’s 13 career wins — and has a 2.79 ERA (15 earned runs in 48 1/3 innings) against the Royals’ American League Central foe.
“It’s something they all have to go through,” Matheny said about the steps Singer is taking in the rotation this year. “When it’s all there, which is probably 10% of the time, you let them use their talent and ride. But the majority of the time, it’s going to be days like this, when something’s off. Whether it’s’ the fastball command or the feel on the secondary pitches.
“How do you give the team a chance, let alone be able to go six? It’s something they’ve got to feel and experience to be able to expect to happen again.”