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Detroit Tigers ride grand slam from Jake Rogers to 7-3 win over Toronto Blue Jays
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- Detroit Tigers ride grand slam from Jake Rogers to 7-3 win over Toronto Blue Jays
TORONTO — Two weeks ago, Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers hinted at what could happen during an on-field interview immediately following a July 8 win against the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians .
"Don't let the Tigers get hot," Rogers said. "That's all I gotta say."
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The Tigers lost right-hander Reese Olson to a shoulder injury but continued their winning ways Saturday with a 7-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of three games in the series at Rogers Centre, sparked by a grand slam from Rogers as part of a six-run sixth inning.
Since July 5, the Tigers (49-50) are 10-2, including four wins in a row.
Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers (34) hits a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Saturday, July 20, 2024.
With four straight series victories, they're one game under .500 for the first time since June 7, but the Tigers still have work to do in the standings. Saturday's victory left them 11½ games back of first place in the Central and 5½ games back of the final AL wild-card spot.
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The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in Saturday's fifth inning with an RBI double from Andy Ibáñez , but the real damage occurred in the sixth inning against three different pitchers, who toiled for a combined 48 pitches.
The first three batters of the inning reached safely to chase left-hander Yusei Kikuchi — expected to be moved at the July 30 trade deadline — from his 21st start of the season.
To chase Kikuchi, Matt Vierling hit a single, Mark Canha walked and Wenceel Pérez took a hit-by-pitch. The Blue Jays then turned to right-handed reliever Trevor Richards .
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Rogers greeted Richards by hammering a two-strike, up-and-in fastball for a grand slam to left field.
The slam from Rogers put the Tigers ahead, 5-0.
The Tigers kept their foot on the gas against the Blue Jays. Three of the next four hitters collected singles: Javier Báez , Gio Urshela and Ibáñez. The one-out single from Ibáñez scored Báez from second base for a 6-0 advantage.
After that, Justyn-Henry Malloy walked to load the bases again.
A new pitcher — left-handed reliever Brendon Little — then threw a two-out wild pitch, allowing Ibáñez to score easily and make it 7-0.
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Kenta Maeda , relief ace?
With Olson's injury, the Tigers had to piece together the pitching efforts for the final seven innings. Right-handed reliever Alex Faedo completed two scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, to take the Tigers into the fifth inning.
That's when right-hander Kenta Maeda jogged out of the bullpen for his second relief appearance since his removal from the rotation for performance reasons.
Detroit Tigers second baseman Andy Ibáñez (77) turns a double play against Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho (25) during the second inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Saturday, July 20, 2024.
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Maeda dominated in his first game as a reliever, but he wasn't as successful in the second outing. The 36-year-old threw more than 75% strikes, but he allowed three runs on three hits and zero walks with one strikeout in two innings.
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The Blue Jays scored all three runs in the sixth inning.
George Springer hit an RBI single off Maeda's fastball at the bottom of the strike one, then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run off Maeda's splitter that caught too much of the heart of the plate.
Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton covered the seventh and eighth innings, while right-handed reliever Shelby Miller — protecting a four-run margin — completed the ninth inning.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jake Rogers slams Detroit Tigers to within a game of .500 with 7-3 win
