Another Rough Start for Max Scherzer

Detroit 3, Kansas City 7 (box)

Max Scherzer fanned 14 batters in his last start, his first outing since being recalled. Last night in Kansas City, he managed only three.

Though Scherzer (2-5) was throwing hard, at times touching 98 mph with his heater, his location was poor, and Royals batters made him pay.

For Kansas City, who came into the game with the second-highest team batting average in the league, the offense was lead by Scott Podsednik and Jason Kendall. The top two batters in the Royals lineup went a combined 5-for-6 with two walks. They scored five of the seven KC runs.

The Tigers tried to make it interesting in the sixth, when trailing 4-0 to Bruce Chen. Chen (2-0) walked Magglio Ordonez, then allowed a single to Miguel Cabrera before being lifted for Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth muscled up and threw a first-pitch fastball to Brennan Boesch who promptly unloaded on it, sending out to right for a three-run shot, cutting the deficit to one.

But the Royals jumped right back out when Scherzer allowed an 0-2 single to Alberto Callaspo before leaving the game in the bottom of the inning, making way for Ryan Perry. Perry retired the first two batters he faced, but then the floodgates opened as he gave up three straight hits and failed to record the final out of the frame. (…)

Cheers for

• Brennan Boesch– Boesch belted his fifth homer of the year to go along with a double. In 33 games this season, Boesch is hitting .339 with 19 extra-base hits and 25 RBI.

Jeers for

• Austin Jackson– AJax took an 0-for-5 that included two strikeouts. His rough day at the dish marked the end of his recent hot streak.
• Max Scherzer– Mad Max was fuming after his bad outing that saw him allow 12 Royals to reach base in 5+ innings. The talent is there, obviously, but he needs to be more consistent with his location.
• Ryan Perry– It might be time for Perry to make a pit-stop in Toledo for a tune up session. In his last four games, Perry has worked 2.2 innings and given up 10 hits and nine earned runs.
• Gerald Laird– Seriously, we are more than a quarter way through the year and this guy is hitting .154. And his average is actually going down as he has hit just .116 (5-for-43) in his last 13 games.
• Adam Everett– Sure, Everett is a nice defender, and he has great hair, but I can’t recall him hitting one ball hard all year. He’s hitting at a lowly .185 clip this season, which would be even more terrible if not for Laird’s average.

What’s on tap?

A day after every Royals starter had at least one hit, the Tigers will look to Justin Verlander to again become their stopper. Verlander has pitched well since the end of April, and he’ll need to do so again versus a Kansas City squad that has taken four of the seven meetings between these two clubs so far. If you can’t beat the teams that you’re supposed to beat, you’re in trouble. After a losing homestand, the Tigers are 0-1 on their current six game trip. Kansas City will send Luke Hochevar to the hill today.