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BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS , April 24, 2024Share

ST. PETERSBURG — For Tigers designated hitter Riley Greene, it was a timely swing at an appropriate locale. Some two hours away from his hometown of Oviedo, before a family-and-friends rooting section of 15 (including his parents and grandparents), Greene had the first multihomer game of his Major League career.

And his second homer, a two-run shot in the eighth inning, was the decisive blow in Tuesday night’s come-from-behind 4-2 victory against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

“Super, super special,’’ Greene said.

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It was the latest moment in what has become a special April for the Tigers, who have won their first five road series of a season for the first time since 2007 while clinching their first winning series at the Trop since 2016.

Trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning, Detroit got a leadoff single from No. 9 Carson Kelly to set up Greene’s go-ahead two-run homer against Rays reliever Colin Poche. Greene, who opened the scoring with a solo homer in the third, had barely caught his breath in the dugout when Mark Canha tacked on an insurance homer.

Apr 23, 2024

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Mark Canha’s solo home run (5)

It was a quick turnaround for the Tigers — and especially for reliever Alex Faedo, who surrendered a two-run sixth-inning homer to ex-Tiger Isaac Paredes. But Faedo (1-1) held the Rays in check during the seventh and was the beneficiary of an improbable victory when Greene delivered his second homer to change the game’s tenor.

“Our guys hung in there,’’ Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “But good things can happen late, especially when Riley Greene is involved. When Riley gets a good pitch to hit, he can do extensive damage.’’

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Lost in the comeback was the performance by Tigers starter Kenta Maeda, who entered with a 7.64 ERA. Maeda allowed just three hits across five shutout innings and left with a 1-0 lead. But Hinch was most impressed with Maeda’s early composure.

In the first, Javier Báez booted Yandy Diaz’s routine grounder to short. Maeda then appeared to get Richie Palacios on a flyout, but catcher’s interference was called to put the batter on base. Maeda was suddenly in a jam.

Apr 23, 2024

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Kenta Maeda fans five across five scoreless innings

“He had done nothing wrong but get two outs,’’ Hinch said. “So then he’s looking at first and second with nobody out. How the game started, it could’ve gotten away from him. But there was no panic, no stress. He continued to make pitches and trusted that the defense was going to make plays.’’

After Faedo surrendered the lead, he pitched a scoreless seventh, then Alex Lange and Jason Foley followed with scoreless innings of their own. Foley earned his seventh save and converted his 12th consecutive save situation dating back to last season.

Apr 23, 2024

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Jason Foley earns his seventh save

“It’s a special team,’’ Greene said. “We’ve got a lot of guys in here who work super, super hard. We’ve got the team chemistry. We’ve got the pitchers on the mound who are dealing for us, and we’ve got our bullpen that has really helped us out. We’ve got a lot of great elements on this team.’’

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Including the timely power hitting that Greene displayed.

Apr 23, 2024

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Buddy Kennedy’s slick barehanded play

“They’ve got some good [pitching] stuff over there, and they’re going to use it,’’ Greene said. “I just tried to stick to my approach and stay aggressive. A.J. has been preaching to me over and over again, ‘Get a good pitch to hit.’ That was my main focus, getting a good pitch to hit.’’

Apr 23, 2024

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Javier Báez steals second base

Greene got that pitch to hit. The timing and setting were perfect. So was the result.

“Just a great, great night,’’ he said.

Detroit Tigers (14-10, second in the AL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (12-13, fifth in the AL East)

St. Petersburg, Florida; Wednesday, 6:50 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Jack Flaherty (0-1, 4.44 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30 strikeouts); Rays: Shawn Armstrong (0-1, 4.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 13 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers hit the road against the Tampa Bay Rays aiming to prolong a three-game road winning streak.

Tampa Bay has a 12-13 record overall and a 7-9 record at home. The Rays have gone 4-2 in games decided by one run.

Detroit has a 14-10 record overall and a 10-3 record in road games. The Tigers have a 6-3 record in games when they did not allow a home run.

Wednesday’s game is the third time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Caballero has five doubles, a triple and two home runs for the Rays. Amed Rosario is 17-for-41 with a double, a triple and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Kerry Carpenter has a .293 batting average to lead the Tigers, and has five doubles, two triples and three home runs. Mark Canha is 11-for-35 with two home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.

Riley Greene hit two home runs for the Tigers against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

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