DETROIT _ As a small white baseball created a parabola in the night sky over Comerica Park, Eric Hosmer peeked back toward the first-base dugout. Already, the party had begun, a scene of joy and smiles and merriment. Salvador Perez flexed his muscles and prepared to hug his good friend. A few feet away, somebody looked for the Rally Mantis, Version 2.0.
When Hosmer finished circling the bases, a victorious trot after a two-run blast, the Royals had their first lead in an eventual 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. When Wednesday night was done, the Royals had relighted the fuse in an ever-turbulent season, completing a three-game sweep at Comerica Park.
Hosmer finished 2 for 3, breaking up a no-hitter in the seventh and delivering a decisive two-run shot in a three-run ninth inning. The Royals (60-60) climbed back to .500 after finishing 5-1 over a six-game road trip.
For the Royals, it was their first three-game sweep on the road since last September and their first three-game sweep in Detroit since 2008.
So ... game on?
On a night where Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh, Kansas City weathered the storm and escaped town with another victory. Starter Yordano Ventura allowed just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings, finishing with seven strikeouts. Alex Gordon drilled a game-tying solo homer _ his 10th of the season _ in the top of the eighth. One inning later, Hosmer ravaged the Tigers bullpen again.
But before the Royals could punish the Detroit relief corps, they first had to wait out Sanchez, who was somewhat dominating after a shaky 2016 season.
For much of 2016, Sanchez had shuffled between the starting rotation and bullpen. He posted a 7.09 ERA in May before being relegated to a relief role. He returned to the rotation in July, recording an 8.41 ERA in 20 1/3 innings. Wherever Sanchez landed, carnage seemed followed. In 27 total appearances entering Wednesday, he had logged a 6.31 ERA. Among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched, the number ranked as the worst in baseball.
On Thursday, he turned into a dynamo, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Sanchez, perhaps, was enthused to see the Royals. In his career, he had posted a 2.79 ERA against Kansas City in 77 1/3 innings, including 11 starts. For years, he served as a worthy foil, helping the Tigers to division titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Wednesday night at Comerica Park, he opened the game with four perfect innings, retiring 12 straight hitters with a potent variety of 90 mph fastballs and off-speed stuff. The perfect game would end when Hosmer led off the fifth with a walk. The no-hitter would stretch into the seventh, when Hosmer ripped a two-out double off the base of the wall in left-center.
Sanchez finished out the seventh, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus tapped left-hander Justin Wilson to pitch the eighth. Gordon made the decision appear suspect, drilling a solo homer into the seats in right field.
It was Gordon's 10th homer of the year and his second in two days. One inning later, Hosmer landed another blow.
