Buddy Kennedy wasted no time getting into action, darting out of the batter's box only to ease up a few steps later. Reflecting on his hit, he remarked, "I thought it was honestly a double because with my luck, it never goes out." Kennedy, a second baseman for the Detroit Tigers, made his first start in his second game and watched the ball sail to left field for a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning.
The Tigers clinched a 6-1 victory against the Twins in Sunday's series finale, securing two wins out of three games. Despite the Twins being the reigning American League Central champions, the Tigers have won four out of seven games against them in the past 10 days. However, both teams won't face off again until early July.
Kennedy's two-run homer, which came as a replacement for slumping rookie Colt Keith, forced Twins right-hander Louie Varland out of the game in the third inning. On the Tigers' side, right-hander Casey Mize pitched six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out four.
Mize admitted, "Divisional wins are going to be huge," emphasizing the importance of gaining ground in the divisional standings. "We treat every game as win today, but coming away with a series win here is big."
Varland had a rocky start, throwing 39 pitches and walking three batters in the first inning alone. Kerry Carpenter's RBI single, following walks to Riley Greene and Mark Canha, put the Tigers ahead 1-0. Carpenter extended his hitting streak to seven games and his RBI streak to six, the longest for a Tiger since Justin Upton's six-game streak in early August 2017.
Kennedy later added to the lead with a sacrifice fly, making it 2-0. Varland's final pitch, a cutter to Kennedy, resulted in a two-run home run, ending Varland's day with four runs allowed on three hits and four walks in 2⅔ innings.
Mize had a shaky start, loading the bases in the first inning but managing to keep the Twins from scoring. He finished with a 2.95 ERA in four starts, saying, "It was just a battle from Pitch 1," and expressing satisfaction with keeping the Twins off the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the third, Kennedy made an impressive defensive play, fielding a ball up the middle and turning a double play to end the inning. Mize relied heavily on his fastball, which averaged 95.1 mph, and his splitter became a key weapon in the later innings, resulting in five strikeouts.
Despite the Twins scoring a lone run in the ninth inning, the Tigers held on for the win. Martin's solo home run off Alex Faedo was the only blemish in an otherwise strong pitching performance by the Tigers.
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