KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Eric Skoglund pitched 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball in his major league debut, helping the Kansas City Royals beat Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Skoglund, a 2014 third-round draft pick out of Central Florida, struck out five and walked one. The left-hander was promoted from Triple-A Omaha when the Royals placed Danny Duffy on the disabled list Monday with an oblique strain.
Verlander (4-4) left after seven innings, allowing one run and six hits. He struck out five and walked one.
The Royals jumped in front in the sixth. Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas began the inning with singles, but Lorenzo Cain rolled into a double play. Eric Hosmer got Escobar home with a single to center.
Skoglund walked Miguel Cabrera and yielded a single to Victor Martinez with two out in the first. J.D. Martinez went down swinging to end the inning for Skoglund's first big league strikeout.
The Tigers did not have another runner touch second base. Skoglund retired the next 14 batters before Dixon Machado's one-out single in the sixth.
After Victor Martinez flied out to left to begin the seventh on Skoglund's 90th pitch, manager Ned Yost summoned Peter Moylan from the bullpen.
Skoglund walked off the mound to a standing ovation and doffed his cap the Kauffman Stadium crowd before going into the dugout.
Moylan struck out J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton on six pitches to end the seventh. Mike Minor worked around a single in the eighth. Kelvin Herrera pitched a spotless ninth for his 12th save in 14 opportunities.
NOT BAD AT ALL
Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games with an infield single in the fifth. Merrifield also forced Verlander to throw 12 pitches before walking in the third.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: OF Jim Adduci, who went on the disabled list May 12 with a right oblique strain, tried hitting off a tee. "He still feels it," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He's still a ways away."
Royals: RHP Nathan Karns went on the disabled list with a forearm strain retroactive to May 21, but has yet to throw off a mound. "Everything is going well," Karns said. "I'm playing catch right now. I'm building it up. We'll see (what) the timetable is from the training staff is and what they feel is appropriate and go from there."
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Matt Boyd is 0-4 in his past six starts since an April 16 victory at Cleveland.
Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy is 0-2 with a 3.04 ERA in four home starts this season.
