Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers: Final Score & Recap

The Kansas City Royals overcame a four-run Detroit fifth inning to win 5-4 at Comerica Park on July 26, 2026, completing a comeback that shifted the DiamondIQ model's estimate of a home Detroit victory from 59% before first pitch to 0% at the final out. Kansas City scored twice in the first, added a run in the fourth, and then watched Detroit erase that advantage with a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth, a rally keyed by Dillon Dingler's single off Matt Strahm, which swung win probability 23.3 points in Detroit's favor, and a Riley Greene fielder's choice that added another 15.1 points. The Royals reclaimed the lead for good in the eighth when Michael Massey connected for a home run off Drew Sommers, a swing that shifted win probability 37.4 points toward Kansas City and stood as the single most consequential play of the game.

Massey finished as the game's top performer by win-probability added at plus-32.4 percent to go with a RE24 of plus-1.5, while Greene led Detroit's ledgers at plus-30.7 percent WPA despite his team absorbing the loss. Dingler contributed a plus-22.3 percent WPA and the game's top RE24 mark at plus-2.1. On the mound, John Schreiber was the most impactful Kansas City reliever at plus-23.3 percent WPA, followed by Luinder Avila at plus-19.6 percent and Ty Madden at plus-14.0 percent. The game's final drama came in the bottom of the ninth, where Steven Cruz induced a Greene strikeout worth plus-21.4 points of win probability before navigating a Kevin McGonigle flyout that briefly created a minus-16.6 point swing before the Royals secured the victory.