Spencer Torkelson finished a single shy of the cycle and drove in three runs as the host Detroit Tigers held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.
Eduardo Valencia reached base five times and scored three runs, while Dillon Dingler drove in two runs for Detroit (75-85).
Jackson Jobe (3-3) gave up two runs and three hits with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
Rafael Flores Jr. hit a three-run homer for Pittsburgh. Ryan O’Hearn supplied two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Starter Bubba Chandler (8-10) gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The Pirates (81-79) scored twice in the second inning. Oneil Cruz walked and stole second, then scored on O’Hearn’s one-out single. With two down, Spencer Horwitz ripped a double to right to knock in O’Hearn.
The Tigers tied in the bottom of the inning. Valencia led off with the first of his three walks, and Brett Callahan hit a two-out single. They both scored when Torkelson hit a liner to right that eluded Jake Mangum, who attempted a diving catch. Torkelson wound up with his first triple of the year.
Detroit scored four runs in the third, all with two outs.
Kevin McGonigle walked, Valencia singled and Riley Greene walked to load the bases. Dingler drove in two runs with a single to left. After Callahan walked, Torkelson swung at Chandler’s full-count pitch that bounced in the dirt. Torkelson reached first on the play as both Greene and Dingler scored on the wild pitch.
The Tigers tacked on a two-out run in the sixth to make it 7-2. Valencia drew a walk and Greene followed with a single. Dingler then hit a grounder that went through shortstop Konnor Griffin’s legs for an error as Valencia scored.
Torkelson made it a six-run advantage leading off the seventh when he blasted a Wilber Dotel pitch over the left field wall.
The Pirates rallied against Andrew Sears in the eighth. Nick Gonzales and O’Hearn had RBI singles before Flores’ three-run blast pulled them within one run at 8-7.
–Field Level Media
