DETROIT _ Eric Hosmer silenced Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon, drilling a three-run homer off Tigers reliever Francisco Rodriguez in the top of the ninth inning.
The blast carried out to right-center and sent a stadium streaming to the exits as the afternoon hit downtown Detroit. The Royals snapped a four-game losing streak and remained above .500 after a 7-4 victory.
Hosmer's homer was the final blow in a somewhat improbable comeback, the Royals erasing a 4-2 deficit in the ninth inning. Down to his final strike, Paulo Orlando delivered a two-out, two-run double that sailed over the head of Detroit center fielder Cameron Maybin and scored Alex Gordon and pinch runner Terrance Gore.
Moments later, Cheslor Cuthbert drew a walk, setting up Hosmer with two runners on. The late charge had begun with singles from Alex Gordon and rookie Hunter Dozier.
The Royals won despite losing starting pitcher Yordano Ventura after four-plus innings. With nobody out in the fifth inning, Ventura allowed a double down the line and received a visit from head trainer Nick Kenney.
The conversation lasted nearly a minute, coming just moments after a lightly hit grounder had slipped past first baseman Kendrys Morales. As a group of Royals gathered at the mound, Ventura looked tentative, unsure of the severity of his injury.
The conversation continued, and finally, Ventura relented, walking back to the dugout with Kenney by his side. In the end, the diagnosis was a minor one _ lower-back tightness and spasms; day to day _ but the image offered another deflating moment until the ninth-inning surge.
Before the ninth inning, half of the Royals' production came via Morales, who clubbed his 30th homer of the season in the sixth inning.
Morales became the first Royals player to his 30 homers in a season since Jermaine Dye in 2000. The gap between 30-homer seasons lasted 16 years _ a stretch that included 12 losing seasons, two trips to the World Series, and the return of the fences at Kauffman Stadium back to their original, spacious dimensions.
Morales became the 10th Royal to homer 30 times; Danny Tartabull did it twice. And while Steve Balboni's franchise record of 36 appears safe, Morales has seven games to equal his career high of 34, set in 2009 with the Los Angeles Angels.
Before exiting with injury, Ventura allowed three runs and 10 hits in four-plus innings. He struck out six and walked two as his ERA climbed to 4.40.
The Tigers would add an insurance run against left-handed reliever Matt Strahm in the bottom of the sixth.
