Matt Vierling homered and drove in three runs and the host Detroit Tigers held off the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Andy Ibanez added a solo homer and Colt Keith tripled, scored two runs and drove in another as Detroit won for the fifth time in six games.
Detroit starter Reese Olson (4-8) allowed three runs, six hits and one walk with three strikeouts in six innings. He has three wins and a no-decision in his last four starts. Jason Foley notched his 15th save.
Angel Martinez drove in two runs and Daniel Schneemann homered for the Guardians.
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (7-4) gave up four runs and five hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Home plate umpire Jansen Visconti departed the game in the bottom of the fourth after getting hit by a foul ball. A three-man umpiring crew was used the remainder of the game.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first. Wenceel Perez led off with a double and scored on Keith’s triple to center. Vierling’s sacrifice fly scored Keith.
Cleveland tied it up in the third. Bo Naylor hit a one-out single and moved to third on Steven Kwan’s double. Martinez then ripped a ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in right-center field.
Detroit regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. Keith drew a leadoff walk before Vierling launched his 12th homer to left-center to make it 4-2.
The Guardians pulled within one in the fourth on Schneemann’s two-out homer.
Detroit’s defense turned double plays in the fifth and sixth innings.
Ibanez, pinch-hitting for Keith, greeted reliever Sam Hentges with his third homer of the season in the eighth. Ibanez blasted a curveball over the left-field wall.
The Tigers’ Alex Faedo walked Josh Naylor and David Fry in the top of the ninth. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. Andres Gimenez’s sacrifice fly brought home Naylor for a 5-4 deficit.
Foley came in and induced a Tyler Freeman ground ball. Pinch runner Gabriel Arias got caught in a rundown while attempting to score. After an intentional walk and wild pitch, Foley retired Austin Hedges on a grounder to end the game.
–Field Level Media
