Buddy Kennedy hits big home run in first start with Detroit Tigers in 6-1 win over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — Buddy Kennedy moved quickly out of the batter's box.

He slowed down after a few steps.

"I thought it was honestly a double," Kennedy said, "because with my luck, it never goes out."

Kennedy, a second baseman for the Detroit Tigers making his first start in his second game, watched the ball fly to left field for a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning.

The Tigers beat the Twins, 6-1, in Sunday's finale of a three-game series, in which the Tigers won two games. The Tigers (12-10) have won four of seven games against the Twins, the reigning American League Central champions, in the past 10 days, but the two teams won't play again until early July.

The two-run homer from Kennedy, who started in place of slumping rookie Colt Keith, chased Twins right-hander Louie Varland in the third inning. For the Tigers, right-hander Casey Mize completed six scoreless innings — navigating five hits and three walks — with four strikeouts.

"Divisional wins are going to be huge," Mize said. "It's a good chance for us to double up and try to gain some ground in the divisional standings. We treat every game as win today, but coming away with a series win here is big."

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Varland should have been chased by the Tigers in the first inning — when he threw 39 pitches and walked three batters — but he escaped an early departure by striking out Parker Meadows to strand runners on the corners.

But the Tigers didn't come up empty in the first inning.

Kerry Carpenter put the Tigers ahead, 1-0, with an RBI single after both Riley Greene and Mark Canha walked to open the game and advanced into scoring position on Spencer Torkelson's groundout.

With the single, Carpenter extended his hitting streak to seven games and his RBI streak to six games. The six-game RBI streak is the longest by a Tiger since Justin Upton's six-game streak in early August 2017.

Kennedy extended the Tigers' lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.

Varland, who has a 9.18 ERA in four starts, allowed four runs on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 2⅔ innings. His 74th and final pitch — a middle-middle cutter to Kennedy — ended up in the left-field seats for a two-run home run.

It marked the second homer of Kennedy's MLB career in his 42nd game.

"I saw him really well," Kennedy said. "I really saw it out of his hand early. I had a great first at-bat. I just tried to stay tight to my zone. The second at-bat came around, and I was just looking for something out over the plate. ... It was like middle-in, middle-middle, put a good swing on it, and it went over."

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Casey Mize's zeros

Mize didn't look sharp in the first inning. He loaded the bases on two walks and one single with one out, but he kept the Twins from scoring by recording back-to-back outs against Austin Martin (lineout) and Willi Castro (flyout). After that, Mize didn't fall into another three-ball count until Castro's four-pitch walk in the sixth inning.

Mize owns a 2.95 ERA in four starts.

"It was just a battle from Pitch 1," Mize said. "An 89-mile-an-hour heater to begin the game was not great. It was a battle, but if I leave the game and there's a zero in the run column, it's hard not to be happy with that. I'm happy to compete and keep us in a chance to win, and that's what we did."

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In the bottom of the third inning, Byron Buxton grounded into an inning-ending double play. Kennedy, who crushed the pull-side homer in the top of the third, fielded the ball up the middle, touched second base to get the lead runner and threw the ball to Canha at first base to get the speedy Buxton.

"It's kind of crazy," Kennedy said. "Two days ago, we had the same play in (Triple-A) Toledo where I was right up the middle behind the pitcher. Same exact ball, and I did the same thing. I was ready for it."

Mize landed his slider for some called strikes, but his slider lacked horizontal movement and wasn't missing any bats. In the early innings, he put hitters away on balls in play with his high-velocity fastball.

He finished with nine whiffs on four fastballs and five splitters.

The splitter wasn't a weapon until the fifth inning, when Mize racked up all five whiffs with that pitch.

"When the slider wasn't there for me, I needed to pivot to something else," Mize said. "Their lineup called for (the splitter) with some lefties in there, and hopefully, I was able to drop it in. I had some confidence when they were swinging over a few there later in the outing."

In the fifth, Edouard Julien struck out looking on a knuckle curve painted at the bottom rail, and Trevor Larnach struck out swinging on a splitter below the strike zone. Buxton whiffed at a pair of splitters before grounding out to end the fifth inning.

Mize's fastball averaged 95.1 mph.

"It was kind of funny because Casey's line was awesome," Hinch said, "but it wasn't without a fight and a grind. ... He had to pitch through a little bit of duress, even though it feels like a guy who throws six scoreless was in cruise control. I'm proud of his effort because it wasn't as easy as the line is going to make it look."

The Twins scored their lone run in the bottom of the ninth inning when Martin launched a solo home run off right-handed reliever Alex Faedo. Castro doubled and Carlos Santana walked after the homer, but Faedo wiggled his way out of trouble by retiring three batters in a row to end the game.

Spencer Torkelson's big hit

The Tigers pushed their lead to 5-0 in the seventh inning.

Torkelson, working as the designated hitter, provided the big hit off right-handed reliever Jay Jackson with two outs in the seventh inning. Torkelson hammered a middle-middle slider with a 106.5 mph exit velocity for a double.

"That felt good," Torkelson said.

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The ball kicked off the wall in left field and scored Greene from first base.

Torkelson has recorded his highest four exit velocities (on 69 balls in play) in the past six days: 108.7 mph double on April 18 against the Texas Rangers, 107.2 mph flyout on April 16 against the Rangers, 106.8 mph double on April 17 against the Rangers and 106.5 mph double on Sunday against the Twins.

He also had a 106.2 mph double on April 5 against the Oakland Athletics.

"Definitely seeing the ball well, putting myself in a good spot, having a good approach, not trying to do too much," Torkelson said. "I'm kind of just taking what they're giving me. I think that will pay off in the long run."

Torkelson's double off Jackson in the seventh inning ranked as the 18th hardest hit at Target Field this season. Torkelson added a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning for a 6-0 advantage.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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Next up: Rays

Matchup: Tigers (12-10) at Tampa Bay (12-11), series opener.

First pitch: 6:50 p.m. Monday; Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Probable pitchers: Tigers — LHP Tarik Skubal (2-0, 2.28 ERA); Rays — RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 2.14 ERA).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers close series with Minnesota Twins with 6-1 win