James Outman gave the Detroit Tigers the lead with a seventh-inning home run on Thursday, July 23, and that swing helped set up a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park in Detroit.
It was Outman’s fourth home run of the season and it arrived on a 2-2 fastball in the first game of a four-game series. In a one-run game, those are the moments that matter most, because a single mistake can change the direction of the night.
A game that kept turning
The Royals had already taken control earlier in the contest when Isaac Collins hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to make it 2-0. The Tigers answered, and the lead kept changing hands from there.
After Outman’s go-ahead blast, the Royals drew level again when Josh Rojas hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to make it 3-3. But the Tigers still had one more response left.
Dillon Dingler finishes the job
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Dillon Dingler delivered a go-ahead, two-out RBI double off Steven Cruz to put the Tigers back in front for good. That proved decisive in a game that stayed tight throughout.
The Tigers entered the night with a 49-54 record, so a result like this carried some value beyond the box score. They needed a clean finish, and they got it after Outman’s homer helped turn the game in their favour.
There was also more recent momentum for the Tigers to point to after Hao-Yu Lee’s game-breaking three-run home run on Wednesday. But on Thursday, it was Outman who provided the key swing, and the Tigers who made it stand up.
