Wenceel Pérez hits a 2-run drive for 1st big league homer as the Tigers beat the Royals 4-1

DETROIT (AP) — Wenceel Pérez hit a two-run drive for his first major league homer, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Sunday.

“He hit one to the track last night,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I guess he did a couple extra pushups this morning.”

Jake Rogers also homered for the Tigers, who have won five of seven. It was Detroit's 10th come-from-behind win of the season.

The Royals have lost two in a row after a four-game winning streak.

“I don't think we drove a ball after the first inning until maybe the seventh,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We couldn't square them up.”

Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal (4-0) pitched seven innings of one-run ball.

“He gave up a seeing-eye double and a two-strike base hit in the first, but he got another gear after that,” Hinch said. “That's what you expect from a guy who is going to anchor your rotation.”

Skubal struck out six while improving to 2-7 with a 4.65 ERA in 12 career games against the Royals.

“We knew coming in it was going to be a challenge. He's one of the best pitchers in the league,” Quatraro said. “Upper-90s velocity, location, plus changeup, curveball — you name it.”

Jason Foley pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (1-3) permitted four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Kansas City took a 1-0 lead on Bobby Witt Jr.'s RBI single in the first, but Pérez put Detroit in front with a drive to right in the bottom half.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone,” said Pérez, who is hitting .286 since making his major league debut on April 8. “And when we give (Skubal) a lead, the game is done. We know he's going to do the job.”

The Tigers made it 3-1 in the second when Rogers singled, took third on Parker Meadows' double and scored on Riley Greene's sacrifice fly.

Rogers added his second homer of the season in the sixth, and Skubal stranded runners on first and third in the seventh.

“We were probably a little fastball heavy early in the game, but then he was really dominant with the changeup,” said Rogers, who has caught all of Skubal's starts this season.

Kansas City's Salvador Perez walked in the ninth, extending his on-base streak to 18 games.

UP NEXT

Royals: Start a three-game series Monday in Toronto. Kansas City is expected to call up RHP Jonathan Bowlan (2024 debut) from Triple-A Omaha to face RHP Yariel Rodriguez (0-1, 3.86 ERA).

Tigers: Start a three-game series Monday against St. Louis. RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 5.96 ERA) is scheduled to start against Cardinals LHP Steven Matz (1-2, 5.55 ERA).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry reacts after getting picked off first base in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers' Jake Rogers, right, is congratulated by third base coach Joey Cora after hitting a home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha throws to a Detroit Tigers batter in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro, left, takes the ball away from starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) after Wacha gave up a home run to Detroit Tigers' Jake Rogers in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal throws to a Kansas City Royals batter in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers' Wenceel Pérez reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers' Wenceel Pérez, right, is hugged by Mark Canha, left, after hitting a two-run home run against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe returns to the witness stand Tuesday for a bruising round of questioning from the former president’s lawyers.

Michael Cohen 's testimony on Monday linked Trump to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign. He's the prosecution’s star witness.

He placed Trump at the center of the hush money scheme, saying he had promised to reimburse money the lawyer had fronted for the payments and was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign.

Text messages, audio recordings, notes and more have all been introduced or shown to jurors in recent weeks to illustrate what prosecutors say was a scheme to illegally influence the election that year. And sometimes dramatic testimony from witnesses that included former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, ex-Trump staffers and porn actor Stormy Daniels added to the intrigue.

The trial is in its 17th day.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts.

The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.

Currently:

— Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Trump’s hush money trial

— What to know about Cohen’s pivotal testimony

— Trump’s GOP allies show up in force as Cohen takes the stand

— Trump hush money trial: A timeline of key events in the case

— Key players: Who’s who at Trump’s hush money criminal trial

Here's the latest:

With Donald Trump barred from publicly attacking the key witness in his hush money trial, his campaign brought to court a band of Republican elected officials to speak for him.

Trump, who is balancing the demands of a felony trial with his third run for the White House, has been prohibited by a judge’s gag order from criticizing witnesses and already fined for violating the restrictions.

Bringing allies to court allowed Trump’s campaign to press his message without violating the gag order. It also gave those allies a high-profile platform to demonstrate loyalty to their party’s presumptive nominee and perhaps audition for higher office.

Once Donald Trump’s loyal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen provided jurors with an insider’s account of payments to silence women’s claims of sexual encounters with Trump, saying the payments were directed by Trump to fend off damage to his 2016 White House bid.

While prosecutors’ most important witness, he’s also their most vulnerable to attack — having served time in federal prison and built his persona in recent years around being a thorn in Trump’s side.

Cohen is expected to be on the witness stand for several days, and face intense grilling by Trump’s attorneys, who have painted him as a liar who’s trying to take down the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

While prosecutors’ most important witness, he’s also their most vulnerable to attack — having served time in federal prison and built his persona in recent years around being a thorn in Trump’s side.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Michael Cohen, left, testifies on the witness stand in Manhattan criminal court about the calculations that Alan Weisselberg made to determine how to pay back Cohen for the money he paid to Stormy Daniels, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Monday, May 13, 2024. (Mark Peterson/New York Magazine via AP, Pool)