A leadoff triple from Jake Marisnick jumpstarted the Detroit Tigers‘ five-run fifth inning.
Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter, though, stole the show with back-to-back home runs.
“Getting a good pitch to hit,” Torkelson said. “When you have no outs or one out and a runner on third, it takes so much weight off your shoulder as a hitter. It simplifies the approach.”
That fifth inning guided the Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at Target Field. The Twins rallied for three runs in the eighth, but right-handed reliever Jason Foley bailed out fellow reliever Alex Lange and stranded the bases loaded.
Foley threw 28 pitches to complete a six-out save.
“I tried not to show much emotion after the eighth,” Foley said, “because I thought there was a decent chance I would go back out for the ninth. When you blow up like that, in terms of letting your emotions out, sometimes it’s tough to come back.”
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Over their past 10 games, the Tigers (30-40) are hitting .280 (99-for-353) with 17 home runs — an average of 9.9 hits and 1.7 home runs per game. In the first six games of June, the Tigers hit .124 (23-for-186) with two home runs — an average of 3.8 hits and 0.3 homers.
The improved offense helped the Tigers win three of four games against the Twins, and the powerful swings — highlighted by the back-to-back homers — were on display in the fifth inning against right-hander Louie Varland.
“He has good stuff, and we had a solid game plan going into it,” Torkelson said. “We were finding the barrel. He made some mistakes, and we capitalized on them. We had a good, solid plan.”
Torkelson, a right-handed hitter, hammered an 89.4 mph cutter on the outside part of the plate for a two-run home run, putting the Tigers ahead 3-1. The ball, tagged with a 103.5 mph exit velocity, traveled 419 feet to left-center field.
It was Torkelson’s fourth homer in the past 14 games.
The two-run shot also marked Torkelson’s eighth homer in 69 games this season, tying his 110-game total last season as a rookie. (He hit 30 home runs in the minor leagues in 2021.)
Carpenter, a left-handed hitter, hit an 88.7 mph cutter on the outside part of the plate for a solo home run. His home run, tagged with a 102.5 mph exit velocity, traveled 403 feet to left-center field.
The Tigers hit back-to-back homers for the third time in 2023.
“We got to more pitches as the game went along,” Hinch said, “and then Tork with the big blow and Carp continued on. As it turned out, you need as many runs as you can get when you put pressure on them, and I thought we had some good swings.”
After the homers, the Tigers added two more runs for a 6-1 advantage on Andy Ibáñez’s single and Miguel Cabrera’s sacrifice fly off right-handed reliever Jordan Balazovic in his MLB debut.
Oh, that bullpen game!
Right-handed reliever Will Vest started the Tigers’ bullpen-only game as an opener for his third start (and fourth appearance) in the past seven days. He became the first Tigers pitcher to start twice in the same series since Mickey Lolich did so against the New York Yankees in late June 1973.
“We taxed our guys,” Hinch said. “The bullpen threw a lot of innings. We had some big performances out of the two starters that pitched. We were in position to win four out of four, and we won three out of four. I love that part. This is not an easy place to come and play. We’re playing better, and our offense has certainly perked up a little bit.”
But Vest couldn’t finish the first inning.
Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton relieved him with two outs, worked around two hits in the first and returned for the second and third innings. The Twins tied the game, 1-1, on Christian Vazquez’s one-out double in the second.
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The Tigers used seven relievers, and — aside from Holton in the second inning — the Twins couldn’t generate momentum until Lange, the American League Reliever of the Month in May, took over for the bottom of the eighth inning.
Lange opened the inning by hitting Michael A Taylor in a scary moment; as Taylor attempted to avoid the pitch, his helmet came off and the pitch hit him in the back of the head. He was diagnosed with a head contusion.
In all, Lange faced five batters: Taylor (hit by pitch), Edouard Julien (walk), Willi Castro (RBI double), Donovan Solano (hit by pitch) and Carlos Correa (walk). He also chucked a wild pitch before Correa’s walk that allowed the Twins’ third run to score.
“Just an off day,” Tigers catcher Eric Haase said. “Langer has been a huge part of our bullpen, and he’s been lockdown when we hand him the ball when it meant something. Maybe it’s throwing a little bit earlier in the game, not a save situation. I don’t know. But none of us here are worried about it. We know what he’s capable of doing.”
Foley replaced Lange, who threw five of 17 pitches for strikes, and inherited a bases-loaded, no-out jam. Royce Lewis, the first batter he faced, hit a sinker for an RBI single, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 6-4.
Then, Foley retired the next three batters: Kyle Farmer (flyout), Joey Gallo (strikeout) and pinch-hitter Byron Buxton (strikeout). He used sinkers for 16 of his 18 pitches in the eighth, then returned to the mound for the ninth.
Foley retired the side in the ninth for his third save.
“I love the fact that he challenges the guys with strikes and beat some guys in the strike zone with his back against the wall,” Hinch said. “He didn’t load the bases, but he knew coming in that it was important for him to throw strikes.”
Starting out hot
The Tigers scored their first run in the first inning.
With two outs, Carpenter hit Varland’s cutter into left field.
Javier Báez then ripped a two-strike fastball, thrown at the top of the strike zone, off the wall in right field. The ball bounced off the wall and rolled down the first-base line as Max Kepler chased after it.
The unexpected bounce allowed Carpenter to score easily, for a 1-0 lead, as Báez reached third base standing up for his third triple of the season.
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Varland, 25, allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 67 of 99 pitches for strikes. He threw 49% fastballs, 33% cutters, 12% changeups and 5% sliders.
The Tigers averaged a 97.6 mph exit velocity against him.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.