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Spencer Torkelson powers Detroit Tigers to 3-2 win over Angels for six-game winning streak
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- Spencer Torkelson powers Detroit Tigers to 3-2 win over Angels for six-game winning streak
Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson received a first-pitch, middle-middle fastball in the second inning Friday night from Los Angeles Angels right-hander Griffin Canning .
It was a pitch Torkelson should crush.
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And he did just that.
Torkelson, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, turned on the fastball — clocked at 93 mph — for a two-run home run to left-center. His homer helped the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Angels in the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park.
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Spencer Torkelson of the Detroit Tigers celebrates his second-inning two-run home run with teammates while playing the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
The Tigers (68-66) have won six games in a row, as well as 13 of their past 16 games (dating back to Aug. 11). They're only 4½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the third and final spot in the American League wild-card, with 28 games remaining.
Before Torkelson's swing, rookie Jace Jung drew a 10-pitch walk with one out in the second inning. He fell into a two-strike count within the first three pitches, only to foul off four of the final seven pitches before taking his hard-earned free pass.
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The next pitch from Canning was the middle-middle fastball to Torkelson, crushed 408 feet with a 106.1 mph exit velocity to put the Tigers ahead, 2-0.
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Torkelson, who has seven homers in 65 games this season, is hitting .333 (14-for-42) with four home runs, four walks and 12 strikeouts in 11 games since returning from Triple-A Toledo.
He finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs in Wednesday's victory.
The Tigers extended their lead to 3-0 when Kerry Carpenter slapped a single into right field in the third inning. Jake Rogers , who walked to open the inning, scampered home from third base.
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Canning allowed three runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts across five innings, throwing 93 pitches. The Tigers were shut out after the third inning, but three runs were enough to beat the Angels.
Kenta Maeda keeps Tigers in front
Right-handed reliever Mason Englert tossed two scoreless innings, flashing a wicked changeup, to set the tone as the opener. After that, right-hander Kenta Maeda took over as the bulk reliever.
Maeda allowed two runs (none earned) on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 81 pitches. He kept the Angels from scoring until the sixth inning.
Kenta Maeda of the Detroit Tigers throws a third-inning pitch against the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
In the sixth, Mickey Moniak turned on a mistake — a middle-middle sweeper — for a two-run home run to right-center, doing so with two outs. Before the homer, Logan O'Hoppe reached safely on a throwing error by shortstop Trey Sweeney .
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The runs were unearned because of Sweeney's rare mistake, the first error of his MLB career.
The Angels trimmed the Tigers' lead to 3-2, but Maeda finished the sixth inning and returned for one out in the seventh. He walked off the mound to an ovation from the fans.
Maeda generated nine whiffs on 40 swings — a 22.5% whiff rate — with six splitters, two sliders and one sinker. His splitter produced a 30% whiff rate, missing bats six times on 20 swings.
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Finishing the job
When Maeda exited, right-handed reliever Beau Brieske inherited a runner on first base and one out in the seventh inning. He induced a flyout, but for the third out, Rogers threw out Jo Adell trying to steal second base.
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Brieske went back to work in the eighth.
He worked around a two-out double from Anthony Rendon . He struck out O'Hoppe swinging with a 98.6 mph fastball to strand the runner in scoring position.
Right-handed reliever Jason Foley fired a scoreless ninth inning, racking up his 19th save.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers edge Los Angeles Angels, 3-2, on Spencer Torkelson HR
