ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Dillon Dingler hit two of Detroit’s season-high five homers, Riley Greene was a triple shy of the cycle and the Tigers stopped a four-game skid by holding off the Tampa Bay Rays 10-9 on Monday night.
Dingler had four hits and drove in four runs. Kerry Carpenter also went deep and finished with three hits and two RBIs. Greene was 3 for 4 with a walk and three RBIs.
That trio combined to hit three consecutive homers in the third inning. The previous time Detroit launched three straight home runs was Aug. 8, 2020, when Miguel Cabrera, C.J. Cron and Jeimer Candelario connected at Pittsburgh.
Hao-Yu Lee also homered for the Tigers (23-38), who avoided falling 17 games under .500. The most games under .500 for a team rebounding to make the playoffs was 16 by the 1914 Boston Braves, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Detroit opened a 6-0 cushion in the third but Ryan Vilade’s three-run homer shaved it to 8-5 in the sixth. Carpenter’s two-run double with two outs in the eighth provided critical insurance when the Rays batted around in the bottom half and scored four times to make it 10-9.
Tyler Holton (1-4) won in relief and Will Vest got five outs for his first save this season.
Yandy Díaz had three hits and Junior Caminero also homered for the Rays, who entered the day with the best home record in the majors.
Greene got the Tigers on the board with a two-run double off Griffin Jax (1-4) in the first.
Dingler homered to center field against Trevor Martin leading off the fifth to extend Detroit’s lead to 7-2.
In the fourth, Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson exited under his own power after a headfirst slide into second base. He appeared to injure his face when his helmet was jarred loose. Vilade entered as a pinch runner.
Tampa Bay shortstop Taylor Walls was removed in the second with left hamstring tightness.
Up next
Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (0-7, 5.81 ERA) faces Rays LHP Steven Matz (4-2, 4.67) on Tuesday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
