Kansas City fans couldn’t have asked for more for opening day in Kauffman Stadium. With AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke on the mound, facing the Detroit Tigers, everything seemed perfect for the start of the season. The fans of Kansas City were ready to see their Royals, who finished the 2009 season last place in the AL Central with a record of 65-97, start off the season on the right foot. However, the Tigers started off the game taking an early lead in the first inning on an error by Willie Bloomquist. The lead was short lived with Kansas City storming back in the 2nd with a 412 ft. homerun by Yuniesky Betancourt which plated himself and Jose’ Guillen. Then came the pitching duel, which was most anticipated with Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander. Both pitchers gained their composure after their first couple of innings, opening day jitters. Greinke and Verlander threw shutout 3rd and 4th innings but Verlander fell short as Chris Getz and David DeJesus both reached base safely. First basemen Billy Butler stepped up to the plate with 2 outs and blasted a single scoring both Getz and DeJesus, giving Kansas City the 2-run lead. In the 6th the Tigers responded with a run of their own, but Kansas City still retained the lead. Greinke, having pitched a brilliant game, going 6.0 innings with 4 strike outs was pulled and the demise of the Royals was in the making. The 7th inning led to a Tiger rally going through most of the Royals bullpen, with Colon, Tejada, and Cruz. Just about every Tiger had a contribution in the inning scoring 6 runs, with singles and doubles by Miguel Cabrera and Johnny Damon, the Tigers never looked back. Robinson Tejada was scored with the loss and Kansas City fans watched their star pitcher get the no decision. There are 161 games left of the regular season and yes, the Royals did show signs of improvement from last season, but at the end of the day the Royals are 0-1. The Royals will look to get their first win this season facing the Tigers Wednesday, gametime 8:10.
