Strike-throwing Jordan Zimmermann pitches Detroit Tigers past Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jordan Zimmermann kept throwing strike after strike, at a near-record pace. Zimmermann picked up his first victory in seven starts, and Nicholas Castellanos and Mikie Mahtook hit two-run homers as the Detroit Tigers beat the sputtering Kansas City Royals 10-2 Monday night. Zimmermann threw 79 strikes in 97 pitches. His 81 percent strike rate was the highest by a major league starter since 2008. The records go back to 1988, and he posted the best mark by a Tigers starter in that span. "I looked up in the fourth or fifth and saw how many balls I threw and couldn't hardly believe it," said Zimmermann, who threw first-pitch strikes to 24 of 28 batters, 85.7 percent. He did not throw two consecutive pitches out of the strike zone until facing Alcides Escobar with two outs in...