DETROIT (Interstat) — Wenceel Pérez hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, lifting the Detroit Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday at Comerica Park.

The Tigers evened their record at 9-9 while the Royals fell to 7-11. Detroit won its second straight one-run game in the series.

Strong starts from Detroit’s Jack Flaherty and Kansas City’s Seth Lugo led to a 1-1 tie through seven. Flaherty allowed one run on two hits over six innings, striking out seven. Lugo matched him, yielding one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Perez connected off reliever Eli Morgan for his first homer of the year. Kyle Finnegan earned the win in relief and Kenley Jansen secured his fourth save. Jac Caglianone had three hits for Kansas City. Attendance was 19,609.