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Tigers stay hot, beat Mariners 7-3 off Carpenter and Torkelson HRs

· Yahoo Sports

The Detroit Tigers are very happy to have Gleyber Torres and Kerry Carpenter back in the lineup.

Thanks to big hits from their veteran batsmen, the Tigers (26-38) beat the Seattle Mariners (33-31) 7-3 on Friday, June 5, at Comerica Park in Detroit. Torres and Carpenter, both playing in their third games back from injury, paced the Tigers' offense against the first-place Mariners for their fourth straight win.

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The Tigers broke it open in the seventh inning when three one-out singles from designated hitter Colt Keith, center fielder Zach McKinstry and shortstop Zack Short loaded the bases. Torres then hit a two-run double over the head of Victor Robles in right field, scoring Keith and McKinstry and registering his third hit of the day.

And for good measure, Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson made it a four-run lead with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, his ninth of the season.

Tigers starter Framber Valdez pitched five solid innings, allowing just one run on five hits despite letting two runners on in both the fourth and fifth innings. Pitching through the rain, he was able to get clutch outs while finishing with six strikeouts, his most in a start since May 13 (seven).

Reliver Drew Anderson replaced Valdez in the sixth inning and allowed one run through two innings, while lefty Tyler Holton allowed another in the seventh inning to make the score 5-3. Though the Tigers' bullpen allowed the Mariners to crawl back into the game, Torkelson's late home run proved to be the knockout blow.

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At the plate

Carpenter and Torres were the big bats for the Tigers on Friday, combining to drive in four of the team's first five runs.

The Tigers led off the third inning with back-to-back singles from Torres and third baseman Kevin McGonigle off Seattle starter Bryan Woo, with Torres advancing to third on McGonigle’s hit. Torres then scored on a bloop single from catcher Dillon Dingler, though McGonigle was thrown out at second base by center fielder Julio Rodríguez after Dingler’s blooper dropped in shallow center field.

Two pitches later, Carpenter smacked an 0-1 slider 347 feet to right field, marking his eighth home run of the season and giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead. It was Carpenter’s second home run since returning from injury, his first coming in a June 1 win  against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It was Carpenter’s ninth-career home run against the Mariners, which including the playoffs is the most he has against any opponent.

Holding onto a 3-2 lead, the Tigers got their first hits from the bottom of the lineup with Keith, McKinstry and Short loading the bases on three-straight singles in the seventh. Torres then drove two in on his opposite-field double to right field, just missing a bases-clearing hit when Short had to hold up in case Robles caught the ball.

The Tigers had a chance to add to the lead in the seventh with two runners in scoring position and one out, but both McGonigle and Dingler popped out in foul territory to end the threat. The first five Tigers' runs were charged to Woo, with the righty pitching into the seventh inning and striking out seven, but also allowing nine Tigers hits.

Torres has seven hits and three RBIs over his three games since returning from injury on June 2, while Carpenter has five hits, two home runs and five RBIs over three games since returning on June 1.

On the mound

Valdez began his outing allowing back-to-back singles to shortstop J.P. Crawford and Rodríguez, both on sharp line drives to the outfield. Valdez then struck out the next two batters but allowed a run on a two-out single from designated hitter Rob Refsnyder.

Carpenter picked up Refsnyder’s single in right field and attempted to throw out Crawford at the plate. The throw appeared to beat Crawford, but Dingler dropped the ball trying to apply the tag, allowing the Mariners to take a 1-0 lead.

Valdez settled down in the second and third, getting four combined groundouts of six batters faced in those two innings. He got three flyouts in a scoreless fourth after allowing consecutive singles to lead off the inning, while finishing the fifth inning scoreless despite allowing Rodríguez and left fielder Randy Arozarena to reach scoring position after walking both batters and allowing them to advance on a double steal.

His final line – five innings pitched, five hits, one earned run, two walks and five strikeouts. He lowered his ERA from 4.39 to 4.21 and is now 3-4 on the season.

Following Anderson and Holton, Finnegan and righty Will Vest got the final five outs of the game to seal the win.

Next up

The Tigers play the second of their three-game series against the Mariners at Comerica Park on Saturday, June 6. Tigers righty Keider Montero (2-3, 3.69 ERA) is scheduled to face Mariners righty Bryce Miller (1-0, 1.71 ERA).

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You can reach Christian at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers score: Carpenter, Torkelson homer in 7-3 win

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