Riley Greene homered, singled and drove in four runs on Saturday afternoon as the Detroit Tigers defeated the visiting Miami Marlins for the second straight game, 6-1.
Greene had an RBI single in the first inning and has reached base safely in all 15 games this season.
In the third inning, after falling behind quickly in the count, 0-2, Greene fouled off five pitches and evened the count at 2-2 before sending a 408-foot, three-run shot to right center off Miami starter Janson Junk.
Colt Keith added an RBI double for Detroit, which has won two straight games after losing five in a row. Spencer Torkelson walked twice and had an RBI single in the eighth inning to extend Detroit’s lead to 6-1.
Tigers starter Casey Mize allowed one run on six hits and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings to improve to 1-1. Greene reached base three times and also had a stolen base, and Kerry Carpenter added a double.
Otto Lopez had two doubles to lead the Marlins, who fell to 1-4 on the road this season. Connor Norby doubled, and his sacrifice fly in the fourth that scored Liam Hicks accounted for Miami’s only run.
Junk (0-2) allowed five runs on five hits and struck out four to lose his second consecutive start. The Marlins made two errors and left nine runners on base.
Miami stranded at least one runner in every inning except the eighth, the only frame in which Tigers’ pitching had a 1-2-3 inning.
The Marlins missed a chance to make the game closer in the sixth. Lopez reached on a one-out error, and Norby followed one batter later with a ground-rule double that barely eluded right fielder Wenceel Perez’s glove.
Drew Anderson, who came on in relief of Mize, induced a groundout to short by Graham Pauley to end the threat.
Anderson’s fifth relief appearance this season was his longest of the season — and his best. He did not allow a hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings while walking two and striking out two.
He retired Jakob Marsee on a groundout to first after a 14-pitch at bat to end the game and earn his first save as the Tigers improved to 4-1 at home.
–Field Level Media
