Mickey Lolich shut down the Royals as Detroit defeated the Royals 6-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

The star left-hander held the Royals to five hits and a walk in 7 1/3 innings, picking up seven strikeouts. Oddly, the one Royal batter Lolich had trouble with was the light-hitting Jackie Hernandez, who had three of Kansas City’s hits. Hernandez, who hit .222 for the season, played a key role in the Royals’ lone offensive outburst, which came in the eighth.

Lolich started the inning by hitting Ed Kirkpatrick with a pitch. Pinch-hitter Hawk Taylor popped up, but Hernandez doubled before a Jerry Adair single drove in both runs. However, that only pulled the Royals to within 6-2. Reliever Pat Dobson entered the game and retired the final two hitters in the ninth, then worked a perfect ninth to earn the save.

Royals starter Jim Rooker only allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings, but he also walked three batters and allowed two home runs. He wasn’t helped by his defense; two Royals errors meant three of the six Detroit runs Rooker allowed were unearned.

With the loss, the Royals fell to 14-12 on the season. They sat in third place in the AL West, 3.5 games behind Minnesota.

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