Kansas City, Mo. ? Ivan Rodriguez was supposed to get a day off. Unfortunately for Kansas City, the Tigers catcher had to play.

Rodriguez drove in five runs in the final two innings, and Detroit rallied from a six-run deficit Thursday to beat Kansas City, 13-8, handing the Royals their 13th straight loss.

Vance Wilson was scheduled to catch the finale of the four-game series to give Rodriguez a rest, but Wilson stepped on a ball Wednesday night.

“I’m ready to play every day,” Rodriguez said. “Vance got hurt, and it’s my job to go back there and go to work.”

Rodriguez hit a two-run triple in the eighth to erase Kansas City’s 8-6 lead and a three-run homer in Detroit’s five-run ninth. Craig Monroe, who went 4-for-4, and Marcus Thames started the ninth with solo homers off Elmer Dessens (2-5).

“I felt a little tired at the end,” Rodriguez said. “But I just put that aside.”

Making K.C.’s loss sting even worse was the fact the Royals knocked Mike Maroth out of the game in the first inning with three straight home runs and seized a 6-0 lead.

“We’ve done this before. This isn’t anything new,” Royals manager Buddy Bell said.

“I don’t know how many games during the stretch where we’ve done exactly what we did today.”

Kansas City's Angel Berroa celebrates a home run as he is greeted by teammate Doug Mientkiewicz. The Royals lost to Detroit, 13-8, on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

The 13-game losing streak is the second-longest ever for Kansas City, which lost 19 in a row last season. The Royals are a major-league-worst 10-35 and drawing comparisons to some of the most terrible teams in history.

Only Boston in 1932, Baltimore in 1988 and Washington in 1904 had worse records (9-36) after 45 games.

“I’ve kind of run out of things to say,” said Kansas City first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who had one of the first-inning homers. “There’s really not much to talk about.”

Has the ineptitude become baffling?

“We passed that point about three weeks ago,” Mientkiewicz said.

Detroit scored eight runs in the final two innings to complete their first four-game sweep in Kansas City. Thames also hit a two-run homer for the Tigers, who have won 13 of their last 14 games.

Notes: The Royals optioned RHP Leo Nunez to Triple-A Omaha and replaced him with Keppel. … Jack Hannahan made his major-league debut at first base for Detroit.