ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Back-to-back-to-back.
Three home runs in a row from Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene powered the Detroit Tigers to a 10-9 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, June 1, in the first of three games in the series at Tropicana Field.
Six relievers pieced together the final 17 outs.
Right-handed reliever Will Vest shut down the Rays’ comeback effort – featuring a three-run sixth inning and a four-run eighth inning – by getting the final five outs, using 40 pitches.
Dingler went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, finishing a triple shy of the cycle with a single in the first inning, a homer in the third inning, a homer in the fifth inning and a double in the eighth inning. Carpenter and Greene also finished a triple shy of the cycle, but Dingler had the lone four-hit performance.
The Tigers (23-38) snapped a four-game losing streak – and opened the month of June at 1-0 after a 6-22 May. The American League-best Rays have a 36-21 record.
On the mound
Manager A.J. Hinch opened the door to the bullpen with one out in the fourth inning, removing right-hander Ty Madden (making his first start since returning from the injured list) for performance and matchup reasons after just 48 pitches.
The six relievers: Left-hander Tyler Holton, right-hander Brenan Hanifee, left-hander Drew Sommers, right-hander Kyle Finnegan, right-hander Beau Brieske and Vest.
Unlike so many times this season, the bullpen didn’t blow the lead.
But it was ugly.
The Rays scored two runs off Madden, then three runs on Ryan Vilade’s three-run home run off Hanifee, who specializes in matchups with right-handed hitters.
The matchup didn’t faze Vilade.
Vilade responded to back-to-back walks from Hanifee with a three-run homer off a middle-middle slider, driving the ball 438 feet to left-center field with a 110.1 mph exit velocity.
The homer cut the Tigers’ lead to 8-5.
Trailing 10-5, the Rays put pressure on the Tigers with one out in the eighth inning after three walks issued by Brieske, whom the Tigers replaced with Vest.
The Rays cut the Tigers’ lead to 10-9 with a two-RBI double from Nick Fortes and an RBI single from Ben Williamson.
On Fortes’ double, the ball tipped off third baseman Colt Keith’s glove and dribbled well into foul territory; on Williamson’s single, the ball deflected off first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s glove.
The moment got worse with Yandy Díaz at the plate.
Díaz hit a grounder up the middle that should’ve been an inning-ending double play, but second baseman Hao-Yu Lee lost control of the ball – before touching second – as he prepared to make a throw to first.
No outs were recorded on the play.
Vest bounced back by recording back-to-back outs, ending the four-run eighth.
He returned for a scoreless ninth to end the game.
Madden allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 3⅓ innings, throwing 48 pitches. The 26-year-old gave up a leadoff double to Díaz in the first inning, then retired the next 10 batters.
His outing fell apart with one out in the fourth inning, as Richie Palacios walked on five pitches and Junior Caminero blasted a two-run home run, trimming the Tigers’ lead to 6-2.
After that, the Rays chased Madden with a single and a walk.
It was Madden’s first outing since suffering a right forearm contusion on a comebacker May 15 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park.
At the plate
Offense has been the biggest problem for the Tigers.
It wasn’t an issue in Monday’s game.
The Tigers hit five home runs, including those back-to-back-to-back homers off right-hander Griffin Jax in the third inning for four runs, providing a 6-0 lead.
The run-scoring began in the first inning, as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead on Greene’s double down the right-field line after singles from McGonigle and Dingler. An aggressive send from third-base coach Joey Cora paid off for the second run, with Dingler barely beating the relay throw with a head-first slide.
After that, the Tigers unloaded three homers in a row – doing so for the first time since Aug. 8, 2020, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park – for a 6-0 lead. (The three homer hitters in 2020? Miguel Cabrera, C.J. Cron and Jeimer Candelario.)
On Monday, Dingler hit a two-run home run off Jax’s fifth-pitch sweeper to center field, Carpenter hit a solo home run off Jax’s second-pitch fastball to right-center field, and Greene hit a solo home run off Jax’s second-pitch cutter to center field.
The three homers combined to travel 1,247 feet.
The Tigers then scored four more runs.
Dingler hit a solo homer – this time, off right-handed reliever Trevor Martin – for a 7-2 lead in the fifth, then Lee hit a home run – immediately after making a perfect glove flip for an inning-ending double play – for an 8-2 lead in the sixth.
It marked Dingler’s first two-homer game in his three-year MLB career, spanning 207 games.
The Tigers added their final two runs in the eighth inning on back-to-back RBI doubles from Dingler and Carpenter, off right-handed reliever Cole Sulser.
Next up: Rays (and the potential return of Gleyber Torres)
The Tigers and Rays meet again Tuesday (6:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet) in the second of three games in the series. The pitching matchup: Right-hander Jack Flaherty for the Tigers and left-hander Steven Matz for the Rays.
Flaherty owns a 5.81 ERA in 12 starts.
For Tuesday’s game, the Tigers are planning for the return of second baseman Gleyber Torres. He hasn’t suited up for the Tigers since May 2, but he recently completed two games on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.
Torres is coming back from a left oblique strain.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 3 straight homers power Tigers to uncomfortably tight win over Rays
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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