Verlander Loses Seventh As Tigers Fall to Royals

Luke Hochevar pitched six strong innings and Joey Gathright drove in the only runs, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Wednesday night and hand Justin Verlander his AL-leading seventh loss. Hochevar (3-2), the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, limited the Tigers to four singles while striking out five and walking three.

He lowered his earned run average to 3.94 in five starts since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20. Relievers Ron Mahay, Leo Nunez and Joakim Soria completed the shutout, holding the Tigers to two hits over the final three innings. Soria picked up his 10th save in as many chances with a perfect ninth, and has not allowed a run in 16 1-3 innings in 17 appearances this season. (More baseball stories.)