DETROIT -- The last time the Tigers were this dominant at home to start a season, they were playing at Bennett Park on the site of what would later become Tiger Stadium. It was 1911, and the Tigers -- led by a 24-year-old Ty Cobb and fellow future Hall of Famer Sam Crawford -- won their first 12 home games as part of a 21-2 start overall.
With Saturday¡¯s doubleheader sweep of the Orioles, capped by a 6-2 win, this year¡¯s Tigers are now 12-3 at home. They¡¯re 17-10 overall, the best record in the American League, and they¡¯ll send Tarik Skubal to the mound Sunday with a chance to complete an 8-2 homestand. They¡¯re doing it with nearly a dozen players on the injured list.
¡°It¡¯s fun,¡± said Riley Greene, who provided a pair of clutch catches in a 4-3 Game 1 victory before his three-run homer in the nightcap put Detroit in front for good. ¡°We have some guys that are banged up. Once they come back, it¡¯s going to be better. We¡¯re just going to continue to have fun with the people we¡¯ve got and just keep playing the game [the way] we know how to play it.¡±
That type of play, and Greene¡¯s style, fits this spacious ballpark extremely well.
Greene, moving from left field to center for the nightcap, bumped up to the second spot in the order behind Gleyber Torres. The All-Star outfielder stepped to the plate with runners at the corners and one out in the third inning and jumped a first-pitch 95 mph fastball from veteran Charlie Morton, making his first relief appearance since his rookie season of 2008.
Greene¡¯s first home run since April 4 followed his double in Game 1, which was his first extra-base hit of any sort since April 4.
¡°That was a big swing,¡± manager A.J. Hinch said. ¡°None of us are worried about Riley. It is nice to see him hit a couple balls hard. He actually hit a couple other balls just as well, didn¡¯t get anything to show for it. That¡¯s just what he does.¡±
The homer, coming on the heels of Zach McKinstry throwing out Cedric Mullins at home plate on Gunnar Henderson¡¯s RBI double in the top of the inning, provided the run support for spot starter Keider Montero, called up as the 27th player for the doubleheader. He fell two outs shy of qualifying for the win, but Brant Hurter stepped in with 2 1/3 innings of one-run relief for his first win of the season.
The O¡¯s chipped away at Detroit¡¯s lead, but Spencer Torkelson -- whose eighth home run of the season proved to be the difference in Game 1 -- made Baltimore pay for pitching to him with first base open and two outs in the seventh, doubling home two insurance runs.
¡°It¡¯s been really cool, a lot of fun to be a part of. This team just keeps going,¡± McKinstry said. ¡°It¡¯s not just one guy, it¡¯s a lot of guys doing a lot of good things.¡±