DETROIT -- The haze hanging over Comerica Park, the product of wildfires in western Canada, put a slight shroud over the downtown skyline Monday night. It did little to dampen the view of Kerry Carpenter’s go-ahead two-run homer as it soared seemingly halfway to Windsor, Ontario.
The 437-foot drive missed the right-field porch, but it was exactly what the Tigers needed to put their hitting struggles away and power past the Twins for a 6-3 victory to open their three-game series.
For 4 1/3 innings, the Tigers seemed to be feeling the hangover of Sunday night’s 2-0 loss in Philadelphia. Twins hybrid starter Travis Adam racked up five consecutive strikeouts through the heart of Detroit’s lineup and faced the minimum through 16 batters. The Tigers' lone hit in the stretch was a Zach McKinstry dribbler that somehow stayed fair as it rolled less than halfway down the first-base line for a third-inning infield single before being nullified by Dillon Dingler’s ensuing lineout double play.
Solo homers from Ryan Jeffers and Trevor Larnach off Casey Mize built a 2-0 Minnesota lead before Spencer Torkelson’s one-out single in the fifth inning set up Wenceel Pérez for his second home run in four days, a game-tying drive to right off an Adams slider. Matt Wallner’s solo homer off Mize put the Twins back on top in the sixth, but the Tigers rallied in the bottom half off Noah Davis.
After Gleyber Torres’ fielder's-choice groundout scored Javier Báez to tie the game, Davis fell behind on a 2-0 count before hanging a sinker over the heart of the plate. Carpenter’s bat drop was evidence that he knew he had crushed it. His 19th home run of the season was his third off Twins pitching. Only the White Sox have seen more Carpenter home runs this season.