Dillon Dingler homered twice among four hits and knocked in four runs as the streaking Detroit Tigers pounded the visiting Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Tuesday.
Kerry Carpenter supplied a two-run shot and Riley Greene added a solo blast while driving in two runs as the Tigers won for the sixth time in seven games. Gleyber Torres contributed a two-run single.
Detroit starter Troy Melton (3-0) gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings, striking out five and walking none.
Josh Bell hit his 200th career homer for the Twins, who have lost five of their last six games.
Byron Buxton led off the game with a homer. Buxton had been out of the lineup the previous two games. He sustained a right shoulder contusion while crashing into the wall against Kansas City on Friday.
Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens added solo homers, while Minnesota starter Taj Bradley (5-3) allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
The game was delayed one hour and 51 minutes by rain.
Buxton jumped on Melton’s first pitch of the contest for his 19th homer of the season. Dingler matched that with two outs in the bottom of the inning, clubbing a hanging curveball just inside the left field foul pole.
The Tigers took the lead in the bottom of the second. Greene smacked a Bradley fastball to the opposite field in left for his seventh homer.
Bell knotted the game with his opposite-field blast with two down in the third.
Detroit regained the lead once more in the bottom of the inning. Kevin McGonigle drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a Dingler single and scored on Greene’s sacrifice fly.
Lee and Clemens gave Minnesota the lead in the fifth with their solo shots on consecutive pitches from Melton.
The Tigers erased the deficit two batters into the bottom of the inning, as Dingler delivered a leadoff double and Carpenter homered over the right field wall to make it 5-4.
Dingler’s second homer and team-high 16th of the season gave Detroit some breathing room in the sixth. With two on and two out, he pulled a Taylor Rogers sweeper over the left field wall.
–Field Level Media
