Detroit Tigers rookie Colt Keith hits clutch double in 6-3 win vs. Mets to stay undefeated

NEW YORK — Detroit Tigers rookie Colt Keith has been trying to perfect the timing of his swing mechanics. He made an above-the-shoulders adjustment in the past couple of days by eliminating the excess movement of his head when swinging.

And the 22-year-old delivered in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader against the New York Mets at Citi Field, hitting an outside fastball off right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin for a clutch game-winning double.

The Tigers beat the Mets, 6-3, in 11 innings behind a three-run outburst, sparked by Keith's double, to stay undefeated in the 2024 season.

Game 2 of the day is set to start at 4:09 p.m.

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Keith provided the two-strike double with one out, scoring the free runner in extras, only for the Tigers to tack on two more runs with Gio Urshela's bloop single off Tonkin into center field.

It marked Keith's second hit and first extra-base hit of his MLB career.

Before Keith's heroics, right-hander Casey Mize — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft — returned from elbow surgery and back surgery in his first start of the season. The 26-year-old allowed three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 87 pitches.

The Tigers (5-0) — the only unbeaten team in the big leagues — mounted a comeback with one run apiece in the sixth, seventh and eighth, capped by Riley Greene's game-tying solo home run off right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino.

Ottavino hung a sweeper over the heart of the plate.

Greene didn't miss.

He belted the mistake pitch for a 394-foot solo shot to right-center field, his second homer of the season but his first pull-side homer. He is 2-for-18 (.111) through five games this season, with both hits traveling for homers.

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Right-handed reliever Jason Foley worked around two walks in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings. He got Francisco Alvarez to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

The Tigers and Mets did not score in the 10th inning.

Right-handed reliever Shelby Miller fired scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th, following scoreless efforts from four other relievers: left-hander Joey Wentz, right-hander Alex Lange, right-hander Andrew Chafin and Foley.

A.J. Hinch's chess moves

The Tigers had a big opportunity with runners on the corners and zero outs in the sixth inning.

Manager A.J. Hinch replaced Kerry Carpenter, a left-handed hitter, with Ibáñez, a right-handed hitter, as a countermove to the Mets bringing in left-handed reliever Brooks Raley. The strategic decision worked out because Ibáñez delivered a sacrifice fly to put the Tigers on the board, trailing 3-1.

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The Tigers cut the deficit to 3-2 in the seventh inning.

There were two runners on base with two outs when the Mets called left-handed reliever Jake Diekman out of the bullpen. Last season, right-handers hit .151 and left-handers hit .229 against Diekman, but Hinch turned to right-hander Mark Canha as a pinch-hitter for left-hander Parker Meadows.

A passed ball and wild pitch allowed one run to score, then Canha — who hit .264 against lefties last season — drew a walk to keep the inning alive. Spencer Torkelson, though, struck out swinging to strand two runners.

Eyes on Mize

Returning from a 721-day absence, Mize managed his nerves in the early innings and turned in a solid performance.

He generated 10 whiffs with four fastballs, one slider and five splitters.

His fastball averaged 94.8 mph and maintained its dominance from spring training. His splitter had its best diving action yet. His slider remained a work-in-progress pitch with too many near misses.

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He fell behind 1-0 in the count to the ever-dangerous Pete Alonso in the first inning, then he threw three strikes in a row for his first strikeout: 84.7 mph slider (called strike), 95.6 mph fastball (foul tip) and 96.5 mph fastball (foul tip). He worked around a leadoff walk and two-out single.

Mize went three up, three down in the second inning, including an inning-ending swinging strikeout of Tyrone Taylor, a right-handed hitter, with a splitter.

It was his first of many nasty splitters.

He opened the third inning by striking out DJ Stewart, a left-handed hitter, with another splitter, but his third frame wasn't as clean as his first and second innings. With two outs, Mize allowed three batters to reach safely in Francisco Lindor (hit-by-pitch), Alonso (single) and Alvarez (double). The two-strike, two-out double from Alvarez off Mize's hanging splitter drove in two runs.

The Mets took a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning, but not before Mize left the game after giving up a hard-hit single to Alonso with one out. Wentz replaced Mize, only to allow a two-out RBI single to Brett Baty.

That run was charged to Mize's tab.

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

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith comes up clutch in 6-3 win vs New York Mets