Some of the best outings of Tigers pitcher Jordan Zimmermann’s career have come against the Royals, a collection of six starts without a loss and without a home run allowed.

About three minutes after he took the mound Tuesday, Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas changed the latter.

An unlikely culprit erased the former.

In just his third major-league start, Royals right-hander Burch Smith threw into the seventh inning, out-dueling Zimmermann in a 5-4 victory in front of 29,597 fans at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday.

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