Out of steam

DETROIT — Did the Royals simply pay a price Monday for their marathon weekend against the Chicago White Sox? Or was this merely a 12-3 beatdown by a Detroit club showing signs of renewed life?

Doesn't really matter, does it?

Lefty Bruce Chen offered little of the effective deception that resuscitated his career in recent weeks. He yielded five runs while lasting just 4 1/3 innings and paid dearly for leadoff walks in the first and fourth innings.

That was nothing in comparison to Jesse Chavez's stat-wrecking inning that included six hits and seven runs while spiking his American League ERA from 1.74 to 5.56.

The Tigers erased a 1-0 deficit by scoring twice in the first inning and built their lead to 3-1 after three innings and 5-2 after five before delivering a seven-run knockout in the sixth inning.

"Bad night all around," said right fielder Mitch Maier, who had two errors. "It's baseball, and it happens. You just come back (tonight) and try not to let it happen again."

Ryan Rabun, Jhonny Peralta and Brando Inge each contributed three RBIs to Detroit's balanced 12-hit attack, which also benefited from 10 walks. (Three walks were intentional.) The first five hitters in Detroit's lineup each scored twice.

"I didn't pitch well at all," Chen said. "I was behind hitters. Just trying to be too fine, and it cost us the game. The leadoff walks really cost me. I felt I should have made them hit the ball. Just attack the zone."

Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman, 7-9, won for only the second time in seven starts by limiting the Royals to two runs in six innings. He allowed eight hits but didn't walk anyone.

Brad Thomas, Daniel Schlereth and Eddie Bonine closed out Detroit's fourth straight victory. Chen, 8-7, was the loser.

The Royals finished with 11 hits, including two apiece by Gregor Blanco, Billy Butler and Yuniesky Betancourt. Jai Miller got his first major-league hit after replacing Alex Gordon in eighth inning.

None of it really mattered.

The Royals were coming off a draining stretch of three extra-inning games over a span of 22 hours, 1 minute Saturday night and Sunday afternoon against the White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.

Fatigue?

"I doubt it," manager Ned Yost said. "It's just that Bruce didn't pitch well, and Jesse didn't pitch well. Neither one of them were sharp. Neither one of them were on. It was a matter of that more than anything else.

"Bruce didn't pitch over the weekend. Jesse only threw two innings and had (Sunday) off. It was just one of those days when they didn't have it."

Plus, the Tigers are stirring again after falling from contention in the AL Central by losing 22 of their first 31 games after the All-Star break. They swept Cleveland over the weekend and have now won seven of their last 10.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning by bunching singles from Blanco, Kila Ka'aihue and Butler but everything went downhill, pretty much, when Chen began the Detroit first by walking Austin Jackson.

Johnny Damon blooped a one-out single before Miguel Cabrera followed with a hard grounder that handcuffed third baseman Wilson Betemit for an RBI single. It could have been an inning-ending double play if handled cleanly.

Instead, it gave an early indication of what was to come.

Raburn grounded a single through the left side that loaded the bases before Chen forced in a run by walking Peralta.

Chen began the fourth with a walk to Raburn — and again found it costly. Peralta pulled a double past third that caromed away from Alex Gordon, which allowed Raburn to score easily. Detroit led 3-1.

The Royals pulled one run back in the fifth after Blanco's leadoff double, but Detroit responded with a two-run answer that knocked out Chen. Both runs scored after Chavez entered the game but were charged to Chen.

Chavez's line took a beating in the sixth. He retired the first hitter before yielding (deep breath now) a walk, a single, an RBI single, an intentional walk to load the bases, a two-run single, an RBI single and a two-run double.

The Tigers led 11-2 and still had only one out when Greg Holland replaced Chavez. Gerald Laird's single produced another run, charged to Chavez, before inning ended.

"It was that one outing," Chavez said. "Every reliever has one of those, and that was mine. It won't happen again."

Once is enough.