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Tigers’ Riley Greene joins 30 Hr club with monster bash vs. Royals
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- Tigers’ Riley Greene joins 30 Hr club with monster bash vs. Royals
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The Detroit Tigers kept their hot streak alive Friday night at Comerica Park, rallying past the Kansas City Royals for a 7-5 win. The spotlight belonged to Riley Greene , who crushed a game-tying homer, his 30th of the season , punching his ticket into the 30-homer club for the first time in his career.
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The Royals (second in the AL Central) struck first in the third inning, tagging Tigers starter Casey Mize for three runs. Bobby Witt Jr. delivered an RBI single, and Salvador Perez added a two-run double to put Kansas City ahead 3-0. Moreover, Mize, who allowed nine hits and one walk without a strikeout over 5.2 innings, ended with a final line of 5.2 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K on 87 pitches. He now holds a 3.68 ERA through 22 starts this season.
Detroit responded in the bottom of the third when Zach McKinstry launched a solo homer off Royals starter Ryan Bergert , trimming the deficit to 3-1. McKinstry, who put on a show on "CMU Night" at Comerica Park, nearly hit for the cycle. He finished with three hits, a homer, a triple, and a single, scoring twice and driving in one run. The All-Star utility man fell a double short, flying out in the eighth inning.
In the sixth, Greene came through in a crucial left-on-left matchup. Facing Royals reliever Angel Zerpa with a runner on and two outs, the 24-year-old crushed a 435-foot homer to right-center, tying the game at 3-3. Entering the game hitting just .207 with a .594 OPS against left-handed pitching, Greene dramatically flipped the script. His two-run blast was his 30th home run in 126 games this season, making him the Tigers' first player to reach the 30-HR mark in 2025.
The Tigers kept pressing in the seventh. McKinstry led off with a single against Bailey Falter before Javier Baez followed with another hit. A throwing error by Randal Grichuk allowed McKinstry to race home head-first, giving Detroit its first lead at 4-3. Andy Ibanez then drove in a run with a single, Gleyber Torres doubled in another, and Wenceel Pérez capped the rally with an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-3.
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Detroit's bullpen held strong. Rookie Drew Sommers, making his MLB debut, recorded the final out of the sixth but struggled in the seventh with back-to-back walks. Kyle Finnegan relieved him and worked two scoreless innings, inducing Witt into his second double play of the game before retiring Vinnie Pasquantino . Finnegan (3-4) earned the win.
The Royals made things interesting in the ninth. Will Vest surrendered a two-run homer to Pasquantino, his fifth consecutive game with a long ball, tying a Kansas City franchise record set by Mike Sweeney in 2002 and matched by Perez in 2021. Still, the Tigers held on for the 7-5 victory.
The Tigers (77-53) have now won four straight and eight of their last nine games.
Related: Tigers' Riley Greene joins Aaron Judge in elite club
Related: Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino keeps home run streak alive with blast vs. Tigers
