Yahoo Sports 
The Grand Slam: Tigers take charge in 10-1 win over Royals
The biggest series in nearly 30 years at Kauffman Stadium got off to a very disappointing start for the home-standing Royals. Before the 37.945 fans had a chance to settle in, Detroit struck for three first-inning runs, including an RBI double from Miguel Cabrera that was horribly misjudged by left fielder Alex Gordon. With a locked-in Justin Verlander on the hill, they never looked back, cruising to a big 10-1 victory.
''We just went out there and did what we're capable of doing,'' Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter said. ''But there are no statements. Our intent is just to play the game.''
The Tigers have been in this position before, so their mindset isn't surprising. Yet they definitely looked like the hungrier team, at least for one night. Every batter in Detroit's order had a hit before the fourth inning. Ian Kinsler paced the 19-hit attack with three hits and three RBIs. He doubled home Detroit's fifth inning run and later capped the scoring with a two-run homer. Victor and J.D. Martinez both remained hot, combining to go 5 for 10 with three runs scored.
It was an all around shellacking, but Royals skipper Ned Yost doesn't seem concerned by the result.
''There's no carry-over,'' Yost said. ''They whipped us, they beat us, they spanked us, whatever you want to say. We'll show up again tomorrow and be ready to play.''
And we'll be ready to watch. Saturday's matchup should be a dandy with Max Scherzer set to face James "Big Game" Shields.
OAKLAND WINS BEHIND JON LESTER: It wasn't much of a breakout, but it was enough. The A's offense scored three runs in the second inning on consecutive RBIs from Derek Norris, Eric Sogard and Coco Crisp, and then rode their pitching to the finish line in a 3-1 win.
Starter Jon Lester went seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits while striking out seven. Ryan Howard got him for a solo homer in the fourth, but Philadelphia never truly threatened to turn the game around. Luke Gregorson handled the eighth, and then closer Sean Doolittle, who imploded against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, bounced back with a perfect ninth to seal it.
With the win, Oakland regained the lead in the wild-card by one-half game over Kansas City. As for the Mariners...
SEATTLE'S FOUR HOMERS SINK HOUSTON:
No offensive issues here. Seattle kept pace in the wild-card standings with Oakland and moved to within one-half game of Kansas City with a big 10-5 win over the Astros.
Seattle hits four home runs in the win, including a pair of solo homers from Dustin Ackley. However, the two biggest swings belonged to Mike Zunino and Kyle Seager. In Seattle's seven-run fifth, they each hit a three-run homer sandwiched around Robinson Cano's RBI single. Taijuan Walker, who was far from sharp, was the beneficiary on the mound. He earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
DAVID ORTIZ HOMERS TWICE, MAKES RED SOX HISTORY: David Ortiz added another accolade to his growing Hall of Fame resume on Friday. With his fourth inning solo home run against Baltimore, he became the first Red Sox player to have eight seasons of 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, passing Ted Williams who had seven.
Ortiz is only the 23rd player with eight 30/100 seasons. Alex Rodriguez owns the record with 14. At 38, he's the oldest major leaguer to go 30/100 since Frank Thomas did it at 38 in 2006. We surely wouldn't bet against Ortiz doing it again at 39.
By the way, Ortiz wasn't done after that first homer. With the game tied in the tenth, Ortiz struck again, this time with a two-run homer that provided the difference in Boston's 5-3 win. Ortiz now has 34 home runs and 102 RBIs on his magnificent season. Overall he has 465 homers, which ties him with Dave Winfield for 33rd all-time.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
- - - - - - -
is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
