Cabrera’s leadoff single in the 5th starts 3-run inning to help Tigers beat Royals 4-2

Tigers’ Scherzer shuts down Royals in 4-2 victory

DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera’s leadoff single started a three-run fifth inning and the Detroit Tigers held on to beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Max Scherzer (12-10) gave up two hits and struck out eight over 7 2-3 innings. Ryan Perry got the final out of the eighth and Phil Coke pitched a shaky ninth.

Billy Butler hit a two-run, two-out homer in the ninth to pull the Royals within two.

Kyle Davies (8-11) was perfect through four innings before giving up three runs on four hits in the fifth.

Rookie Brennan Boesch hit a two-run double in the pivotal inning, matching his total of RBIs from the previous 16 games this month.