Early hits from rookies drive Detroit Tigers to 5-4 win over Cleveland Guardians
The rookie combination of Wenceel Pérez and Colt Keith at the top of the batting order continues to spark the Detroit Tigers. The first inning Wednesday at Comerica Park provided a perfect example.
Pérez hit a double; Keith hit a triple.
Just like that, the Tigers grabbed the lead from the Cleveland Guardians.
The Tigers needed five runs — scoring four of them in the first three innings — to beat the Guardians, 5-4, in the third of four games in the series against the American League Central leaders. Right-hander Reese Olson allowed three runs across six innings, followed by three relievers doing just enough to keep the Guardians from completing a comeback in the final three innings.
"Crazy ending to a good win," manager A.J. Hinch said. "Never be mad at a win, ever."
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The Tigers (44-49) have won seven of 10 games, but they still trail the first-place Guardians by 14 games in the AL Central.
Keith, 22, is hitting .419 (13-for-31) with four home runs, three walks and 10 strikeouts in his past eight games; Pérez, 24, is hitting .267 (8-for-30) with two home runs, one walk and four strikeouts in his past eight games.
The double from Pérez and the triple from Keith put the Tigers ahead, 1-0, in the first inning, facing right-hander Tanner Bibee. An ensuing sacrifice fly from Matt Vierling extended the lead to 2-0.
The Tigers grabbed a 4-2 advantage in the third inning, when Keith worked a five-pitch walk and Vierling smoked a middle-middle curveball for a two-run home run to left-center. He hit the ball 426 feet with a 104.8 mph exit velocity, giving himself a career-high 12 homers in 82 games this season.
Vierling had 10 homers in 134 games last season.
Bibee, who finished runner-up in 2023 AL Rookie of the Year voting, gave up four runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 109 pitches.
After Olson, the Tigers turned to left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, right-handed reliever Alex Faedo and right-handed reliever Jason Foley for the final three innings.
The Guardians scored one run against Faedo on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, making it 5-4 Tigers, but Foley — pitching for the first time since Saturday's game — took over with one out and stranded a runner at third base.
Foley induced a pair of groundouts — with the first coming on an extended rundown between third and home — to end the game.
Reese Olson gives six innings
The Guardians chipped away at the Tigers in the third and fourth inning.
Olson surrendered three hits in a row in the third to Bo Naylor (single), Steven Kwan (double) and Angel Martínez (two-run double). Martínez, a rookie, pumped a first-pitch curveball for a ground-rule double with two runners in scoring position to tie the game, 2-2.
"They have different kinds of hitters," Olson said. "They're a good team for a reason."
The Guardians cut their re-established deficit to 4-3 in the fourth inning, when Daniel Schneemann pushed a middle-away fastball — located outside of the strike zone — for a solo home run to left-center field.
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Olson shut down the Guardians in the fifth and sixth inning, keeping the Tigers in front on the scoreboard. He received help from a pair of double plays, erasing Bo Naylor's walk in the fifth and Josh Naylor's single in the sixth.
The 24-year-old finished with three runs, six hits and one walk allowed with three strikeouts in his six innings, throwing 95 pitches. Olson has a 3.30 ERA in 18 starts in his sophomore season.
"Whatever I have to do to get the team the win is the biggest thing," Olson said, "and we won. I did a good enough job. Probably wasn't my sharpest that I've been, but I grinded through it. Happy that we were able to get the win."
Andy Ibáñez pinch-hits for Colt Keith
A red-hot Keith didn't step into the batter's box in the eighth inning, only because the Guardians sent left-handed reliever Sam Hentges to the mound.
Hinch countered by pinch-hitting Andy Ibáñez for Keith.
"He probably played this at-bat 150 times in his head before it happened," Hinch said.
Ibáñez, who crushes left-handed pitchers, battled for seven pitches before smacking a middle-middle curveball for a solo home run — his first career pinch-hit homer — to left field to make it 5-3.
In 2024, Ibáñez is hitting .394 (28-for-71) with three homers against left-handed pitchers, compared to hitting .151 (8-for-53) with zero homers against right-handed pitchers.
Keith, who finished 1-for-2 with one walk, has a .250 batting average with a .681 OPS in his 82-game rookie season. He had a .590 OPS after his first game of July, but he has been on a tear over the past eight games.
"It's hard to take Colt out," Hinch said, "and there's going to be a time where we're not going to do that. Obviously, Andy is a huge weapon off the bench."
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers crack Cleveland Guardians, 5-4, behind raking rookies
