Spencer Torkelson carried the Detroit Tigers with two home runs.
There was an early lead from the Tigers, a failed comeback attempt from the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins and a two-homer performance at key moments from the 2020 No. 1 overall pick.
The Tigers fended off the Twins for a 9-5 win in the third of four games in the series at Comerica Park. Torkelson, who leads the Tigers with 17 homers in 112 games this season, launched an opposite-field homer in the fifth inning and a pull-side homer in the seventh inning.
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Miguel Cabrera, a 40-year-old future Hall of Famer in his final MLB season, finished 3-for-4 with three singles. He is hitting .331 in 40 games since May 30 and has a .264 batting average in Year 21 of his historic career.
The Tigers (51-63) carried a 4-3 lead into the third inning and didn’t score again until Torkelson’s solo home run in the fifth inning.
Torkelson trusted his hands and unloaded on a second-pitch changeup, located up-and-away in the strike zone, for an opposite-field home run off right-hander Bailey Ober, increasing the Tigers’ margin to 5-3. The ball traveled 380 feet with a 100.4 mph exit velocity.
Two innings later, Torkelson turned on a middle-up curveball from right-handed reliever Jordan Balazovic for another solo home run. This time, the ball traveled 415 feet with a 102.3 mph exit velocity.
The second homer from Torkelson put the Tigers ahead, 6-4. Another run scored in the seventh inning, making it 7-4, on Eric Haase’s two-out single off Balazovic’s elevated fastball to drive in Jake Rogers.
The Tigers tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning to take a 9-4 lead.
Right-handed reliever Trey Wingenter, called up while Jason Foley is on bereavement leave, loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Fellow righty reliever José Cisnero finished what Wingenter couldn’t complete, but not before Max Kepler — a left-handed hitter — pushed a first-pitch fastball into left field for an RBI single, bringing the tying run to the plate.
Carlos Correa struck out swinging on a down-and-away slider to end the game.
Big bullpen moment
Right-handed reliever Brendan White allowed one run in the top of the sixth inning, so the Tigers called on left-handed reliever Tyler Holton — a waiver-wire pickup in spring training — to protect a 5-4 lead with two outs.
Pinch-hitter Jordan Luplow, the first batter Holton faced, drew a four-pitch walk and stole second base. At that point, the Twins had runners on the corners for Kyler Farmer, who didn’t go down without a fight.
Holton and Farmer battled for six pitches.
But Holton won the matchup with a swinging strikeout on a 92.8 mph four-seam fastball about the strike zone. He walked back to the dugout having stranded the runners to maintain the one-run lead.
Holton fired 2⅓ scoreless innings with three strikeouts, carrying the Tigers through the eighth inning. Luplow, who walked in the sixth inning, was the only batter to reach safely against him.
The 27-year-old has a 1.83 ERA in 40 relief appearances this season.
Alex Faedo’s day
Two-out singles from Kerry Carpenter (in the first inning), Riley Greene (in the second inning) and Matt Vierling (in the second inning) led to the Tigers’ four runs through two innings.
But right-hander Alex Faedo, making his first MLB start since July 23, surrendered three runs in the top of the second. The 27-year-old gave up a solo home run to Correa and a two-run home run to Joey Gallo.
Both hitters crushed elevated four-seam fastballs.
Other than the second inning, Faedo looked sharp in his eighth start with the Tigers this season. He even struck out Correa in their second matchup in the third inning, relying on secondary pitches near the bottom of the strike zone.
Faedo allowed three runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts, throwing 50 of 85 pitches for strikes. His slider, which he threw 46% of the time, generated eight of his 10 whiffs and 10 of his 18 called strikes.
He has a 5.80 ERA.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers ride Spencer Torkelson homers for 9-5 win over Twins
