Three Things to Take Away From the Royals' 7-5 Loss to Detroit

The Kansas City Royals' winning streak was short-lived as the Detroit Tigers took the series opener 7-5 on Friday.

The Kansas City Royals' winning streak was short-lived as the Detroit Tigers took the series opener 7-5 on Friday.

Detroit's victory increases its winning streak to four games and moves them to 18-26 on the year. The loss for the Royals drops them to 20-23.

Behind two home runs and five RBIs from Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, Detroit was able to stifle the Royals momentum with a four-run seventh inning.

Here are my three takeaways from Kansas City's Friday defeat.

Miguel Cabrera continues to kill the Royals.

Before Friday’s game, Cabrera was batting .184 and having a rough season. No matter how bad Cabrera’s struggles may be, he still seems to find his swing against the Royals. The 38-year-old first baseman took two Kansas City pitchers deep and accounted for over half of Detroit’s runs. 

Michael A. Taylor is hot.

Despite going 1-for-4, the Royals center fielder sent another ball into the seats. With his home run on Friday, Michael A. Taylor has more home runs (5) than Jorge Soler (4). Taylor’s home run put him tied for third place on the team with Hunter Dozier in that category, while his 15 RBIs are good enough for fifth-most on the team. 

Kyle Zimmer made his first appearance since returning from the injured list.

Kyle Zimmer did his best to keep the Royals in the game with a solid inning in a relief. Zimmer allowed one hit and struck out one in his return. The 29-year-old righty has had a long road to the Majors but has seemed to find his niche in the bullpen. 

Read More: Royals Return Jesse Hahn From Rehab Assignment


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Tucker D. Franklin
TUCKER D. FRANKLIN

Tucker D. Franklin is an alumnus of Northwest Missouri State University, majoring in sports media and graduating in 2019. Tucker was previously the sports editor for The Maryville Forum and is now the editor-in-chief of Inside the Royals as well as the deputy editor for Arrowhead Report on SI.com and the host of the Roughing the Kicker Chiefs podcast. Follow Tucker on Twitter @tuckerdfranklin.