The Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles played at an earlier-than-normal time for Sunday's series finale, beginning at 12:10 p.m. The Tigers needed a couple of innings to wake up, but at 1:01 p.m. -- nine minutes before the usual start time -- Riley Greene delivered his first of two big swings.
Greene crushed a two-run home run off Cade Povich in the third inning. He also launched a solo home run off left-handed reliever Gregory Soto in the eighth inning.
He has 23 homers in 125 games.
The Tigers took care of business Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Orioles, winning two of three games in the series. The Tigers (77-73) have won 22 of their last 32 games, leaving them two games out of the third and final spot in the American League wild-card race, with the third-place Minnesota Twins also playing Sunday.
There are 12 games remaining.
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In the third inning, Andy Ibáñez -- known for his ability to hit left-handed pitchers -- worked a six-pitch walk against the left-handed Povich. There were two outs when Greene stepped to the plate.
Povich threw back-to-back 91 mph fastballs, both located middle-middle in the strike zone. Greene took the first pitch for a called strike, but he didn't waste the second opportunity, crushing a two-run home run 412 feet to right field.
To get to the finish line, the Tigers called upon left-hander Tyler Holton, right-hander Will Vest and right-hander Jason Foley out of the bullpen, covering innings six, seven, eight and nine.
The Orioles trimmed the Tigers' lead to 3-2 in the eighth inning, as Adley Rutschman hit a hanging slider from Vest for a two-run home run with two strikes and two outs.
It was Rutschman's first homer since Aug. 18.
Foley, who recorded the final out in the eighth, shut down the Orioles in the ninth inning. Before that happened, Greene padded the Tigers' lead, 4-2, with a solo home run off Soto. He drove a middle-middle sweeper to the seats in right field.
Greene -- a first-time All-Star in 2024 -- has three multi-homer games in his 317-game MLB career, spanning three seasons.
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Right-hander Keider Montero tossed five scoreless innings on five hits and one walk with one strikeout, throwing 63 pitches. The Tigers removed him after five innings so he didn't have to face Orioles slugger Anthony Santander for the third time.
Montero averaged just 93.7 mph with his fastball, down 1.1 mph from his average of 94.8 mph. The velocity on his fastball, changeup and curveball was down.
He generated just two whiffs on 33 swings.
More importantly, Montero didn't allow any runs in his five innings. He worked around a double in the first and second innings, then stranded two runners in scoring position in the third inning. In the third, the Orioles had a chance to strike with one out, but Santander flew out and Heston Kjerstad grounded out.
Montero also worked around two singles in the fourth inning.
He retired all three batters in the fifth.
It was Montero's second straight scoreless start, after he threw a complete-game shutout against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
The Tigers manufactured a run in the sixth inning, thanks to a two-out stolen base from Matt Vierling.
The stolen base put Vierling in scoring position.
After that, Colt Keith slapped a two-strike fastball from right-handed reliever Jacob Webb to left field for an RBI single, making it 3-0.