DETROIT (AP) — Spencer Torkelson homered to help the Detroit Tigers win their fifth straight game, 4-2 over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

The teams entered the game with the best records in the American League in August. Detroit has won nine of its last 10 games.

Chris Paddack (5-11) picked up his second win as a Tiger, allowing one run in five innings.

Michael Wacha (8-10) had his four-start winning streak snapped, giving up three runs on eight hits in six innings.

The Tigers took the lead on Jake Rogers’ RBI double in the third, but Vinnie Pasquatino doubled home Bobby Witt Jr. in the fourth.

Torkelson hit his 27th homer to make it 2-1 in the fourth, and Rogers gave Detroit a two-run lead with an RBI single in the fifth.

Witt, though, homered off Tigers reliever Troy Melton in the sixth to pull the Royals to 3-2.

Witt singled with one out in the eighth, took second on Riley Greene’s error and moved to third on Pasquatino’s grounder back to the mound. A.J. Hinch brought in Will Vest, who struck out Maikel Garcia to end the inning.

Andy Ibáñez made it 4-2 with a pinch-hit homer in the eighth. Vest finished for his 19th save.

Key moment

The Royals had runners on first and second with one out in the seventh, but Tyler Holton came out of the bullpen and got pinch-hitter Nick Loftin to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.

Key stat

Pasquatino entered the game with homers in five straight games, matching the franchise record set by Mike Sweeney in 2002 and tied by Salvador Perez in 2024. He went 1 for 4 with the RBI double in the fourth inning.

DETROIT (AP) — Jack Flaherty struck out nine batters in seven scoreless innings and the Detroit Tigers went on to beat the Houston Astros 10-0 on Monday night.

Wenceel Pérez, Riley Greene, Trey Sweeney and Colt Keith homered for the Tigers, who were coming off a 5-2 road trip.

Flaherty (7-12) allowed three hits and a walk to win for the second time in 12 starts. Former closer Alex Lange, who underwent lat surgery last season, pitched the ninth — his first MLB appearance since May 22, 2024.

Spencer Arrighetti (1-4) gave up five runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings.

Houston loaded the bases on two hits and a walk in the first inning, but Victor Caratini lined out to end the inning. Flaherty only allowed two more runners — a hit batter and a single.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Pérez’s 10th homer of the season, and they added four runs in the fifth.

Trey Sweeney tripled in the sixth and scored on Keith’s sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. Sweeney hit a three-run homer in the seventh and Keith homered two batters later.

Outfielder Chas McCormick pitched a scoreless eighth for Houston.

Key moment

The Tigers missed an opportunity for a big inning in the second. With runners on first and second and no one out, Dillon Dingler hit a high fly to left that bounced off the fence. Appearing to think the ball had gone for a home run, the runners ended up advancing one base.

Arrighetti then struck out Sweeney before Javier Báez hit into an inning-ending double play.

Key stat

Gleyber Torres played in his 1,000th major league game. He entered the game with a .265 batting average, 151 homers, 499 RBIs and 57 stolen bases.

Up next

The teams played the second of three games on Tuesday night, with Tigers ace LHP Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.42 ERA) scheduled to face St. Clair Shores native RHP Hunter Brown (10-5, 2.45).

DETROIT (AP) — Bo Bichette’s two-run single broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the slumping Detroit Tigers 6-1 on Saturday night.

Nathan Lukes, George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in a four-run ninth as the Blue Jays won their fourth in a row and increased their AL East lead to 6 1/2 games over the New York Yankees.

The Tigers have lost six straight and 12 of 13, but still hold a comfortable lead in the AL Central. They’ve scored only 33 runs during that stretch (2.5 per game) and were held to a pair of Jake Rogers singles on Saturday.

Four Toronto pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts and one walk. The Blue Jays are 8-1 since the All-Star break and have won 21 of 26 overall.

Riley Greene’s ninth-inning groundout plated Detroit’s only run.

Tarik Skubal allowed five hits in six scoreless innings for the Tigers. He walked three and struck out seven.

Toronto starter Kevin Gausman permitted one hit and one walk in six shutout innings, striking out 10.

Braydon Fisher (4-0) pitched a perfect seventh for the win.

Detroit threw out a runner at the plate on an unusual play in the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, Tyler Heineman hit a soft flare into center field that Matt Vierling grabbed on a short hop. Springer had to hold up at third to see if the ball would be caught on a fly, and Vierling’s throw home was in time to get him.

Key moment

Pinch-hitter Joey Loperfido and Springer started the eighth with singles and moved up on a wild pitch by Will Vest (5-2). Guerrero grounded out before Bichette hit a two-run single past diving second baseman Gleyber Torres.

Key stat

Detroit has been outscored 89-33 over the last 13 games.

Up next

RHP Max Scherzer (1-0, 5.14 ERA) faces one of his former teams Sunday when Toronto tries for a four-game sweep. RHP Jack Flaherty (5-10, 4.77) pitches for the Tigers.

DETROIT (AP) — Zach McKinstry had three hits, including one of Detroit’s four home runs, and the Tigers went on to beat the Twins 10-5 on Saturday afternoon.

Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres also homered for the Tigers.

Casey Mize (8-2) gave up two runs on five hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five as he improved to 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA in six starts at home this season.

Bailey Ober (4-6) took the loss, allowing seven runs on 11 hits, including all four home runs. He walked one and struck out five.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second when Spencer Torkelson doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly. After Minnesota went ahead 2-1 on Buxton’s two-run homer in the third, Detroit tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Carpenter’s homer.

Colt Keith made it 3-2 in the fourth with a sacrifice fly and Torres followed with a two-run homer.

Greene led off the fifth with Detroit’s third home run to move the lead to 6-2, and McKinstry’s lead-off homer in the sixth made it a five-run game.

Carlos Correa hit a two-run homer in the eighth, but Wenceel Pérez hit a two-run double in the bottom of the inning.

Key moment

The Twins nearly took the lead in the second inning, but Carpenter leaped to keep a fly ball from Ryan Jeffers from clearing the left field fence.

Key stat

Buxton homered and stole a base in the same game for the 15th time, tying Gary Gaetti for third place on the Twins career list.

Up next

The teams finish the three-game series in the first Sunday night game at Comerica Park since 2017. Twins RHP Chris Paddock (3-6, 4.64) faces Tigers ace LHP Tarik Skubal (9-2, 2.29), who is 9-0 in his last 14 starts.