Riley Greene put on a show with a pair of three-run home runs, while Jake Rogers and Spencer Torkelson also went deep, as the Detroit Tigers routed the Washington Nationals 11-2 on Wednesday afternoon to open a day-night doubleheader.
Greene’s two blasts extended his home run streak to three consecutive games, giving him 21 on the season. Zach McKinstry added four hits and Colt Keith collected three for Detroit, which has now won four of its last five games.
The Tigers came out swinging, exploding for six runs on seven hits in the first inning off Washington starter Trevor Williams (3-10). Keith started it with a double, followed by a walk to Gleyber Torres. After a flyout, Greene launched a three-run homer. Singles by Torkelson and a double by McKinstry set the table, and after a strikeout, Rogers smashed Detroit’s second three-run homer of the inning to make it 6-0.
Detroit extended the lead in the third with a sacrifice fly by Trey Sweeney, then in the fourth Greene crushed his second three-run shot of the game to center, pushing the score to 10-0.
The Nationals finally got on the board in the fifth inning with an RBI single by James Wood, but Torkelson answered with a solo homer in the sixth. Washington’s Alex Call added a run in the sixth after leading off with a single and scoring on Josh Bell’s bases-loaded walk.
Dylan Smith (1-0) earned the win for Detroit, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of opener Tyler Holton, who tossed two shutout frames to start the game. Meanwhile, Williams lasted only three innings for Washington, surrendering seven runs on nine hits.
For the Nationals, prospect Andry Lara impressed in his Major League debut, retiring nine of the ten batters he faced.
Paul DeJong, playing his first game back after suffering a facial injury from a pitch in April, went 0-for-1 with a walk for Washington.
Tigers Crush Nationals Behind Greene’s Two 3-Run Homers in Game One Blowout
