Matt Vierling's 3-run walk-off home run gives Detroit Tigers electric 14-11 win over Jays

The Detroit Tigers seemingly found the most painful way yet to blow a lead this season, surrendering multiple five-run leads over the course of the game to fall behind the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-9 in the eighth inning.

But the Tigers had heroes in the eighth and ninth innings, including the star of the day, Matt Vierling. The Tigers' leadoff hitter turned on a low-and-in slider and blasted it 409 feet for a walk-off three-run home run to give the Tigers the 14-11 win and series victory. Spencer Torkelson started the ninth inning with a single and pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter was intentionally walked, setting up Vierling to win it for the Tigers.

The heroics were set up by a two-RBI single by Mark Canha in the bottom of the eighth inning to re-tie the game at 11 and a scoreless top of the ninth from Mason Englert. It was the first time Detroit held Toronto scoreless since the third inning, coming at the perfect time to make sure Vierling could be the hero.

The Tigers surrendered a lead that was as big as 8-3 in the fifth inning by giving up eight runs between the sixth and eighth innings. The Tigers' bullpen, no matter who was out there, couldn't stop Toronto's offense in the comeback despite the strong run support from the offense.

After a solo home run from Matt Vierling that gave Detroit a 9-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Toronto scored six unanswered runs to flip the game on its head. Detroit seemed on its way to its third straight win and a series victory before the implosion after jumping out to a big early lead thanks to a string of hits and three home runs.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa made it 9-6 with a solo home run in the seventh inning off Tyler Holton. Holton gave up a single and a walk with one out in the eighth before giving way to Jason Foley. Foley got one out but then gave up a two-RBI single to Bo Bichette, a walk and a three-run home run to Daulton Varsho to make it 11-9 Toronto, disintegrating Detroit's once-robust lead.

The Tigers provided starter Casey Mize with a bushel of early run support, building a 5-0 lead by the end of the third inning to support him as he grinded through 4⅓ innings, giving up three runs and eight hits without a strikeout.

Mize escaped bases-loaded situations in the second and third innings and didn't have his best stuff but escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third innings before giving up a two-run home run in the third inning to Cavan Biggio. He was pulled one out into the fifth with a runner on base that eventually scored, which made it 5-3, Detroit.

Detroit jumped on Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi in the bottom of the second inning after a scoreless first inning, with a pair of two-RBI hits from the middle infielders, shortstop Javier Báez and Andy Ibáñez. Báez drove in Spencer Torkelson and Wenceel Pérez with a double, and Ibáñez drove in Báez and Jake Rogers with a two-RBI single to put the Tigers ahead 4-0.

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Torkelson increased the lead to five in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season. Mize was pulled in the top of the fifth inning after giving up a leadoff double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who later scored on a groundball from Joey Wentz.

Designated hitter Carson Kelly pushed the lead back to five with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double from Mark Canha and a walk by Gio Urshela to make it 8-3. Toronto answered with two runs in the sixth before a Matt Vierling solo home run to push the lead back to 9-5, setting up Toronto's late rally.

Mize grinds through start

Mize did better today than his last start where he didn't make it out of the second inning of his most recent start after getting shelled by the Kansas City Royals, giving up six earned runs before getting hooked after 1⅔ innings.

Mize rebounded today to throw 86 pitches in 4⅓ innings, giving up three earned runs on eight hits and two walks. Mize did not record a strikeout in a start for the first time in his major league career.

His outing started smoothly with a 1-2-3 inning on 12 pitches in the top of the first, but he began battling in a 36-pitch second inning. He walked DH Daniel Vogelbach to lead it off, followed by a flyout then an infield single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He walked Biggio to load the bases before escaping on the lineout to second.

Danny Jensen, Guerrero and Bichette all hit singles to the outfield to load the bases with no outs in the third inning, but none deep enough to score a run. Ibáñez helped end the trouble with his double play before a Varsho groundout. In the fourth, Biggio hit a 95 mph fastball down the middle from Mize for a two-run home run to cut the Tigers' lead to 5-2. Mize was pulled after facing the first two batters in the fifth, giving up a double to Guerrero leading to a run and a groundout against Bichette.

Mize threw 86 pitches, 53 for strikes. He threw 32 fastballs, averaging 95.9 mph, 31 sliders, 12 sinkers, eight splitters and three knuckle-curves. He generated seven whiffs (three fastballs, two sinkers, one slider, one splitter) on 40 swings by Toronto for a 17.5% whiff percentage.

Tigers build early lead, use bombs for insurance

The Tigers threatened in the first inning with runners on the corners, but couldn't get to Kikuchi. Torkelson got things going with a line drive double on a low curveball down the left field line in the second inning and moved to third on a single from Pérez. Báez golf-swung at a low changeup near his ankles and sent the ball into deep left-center for the RBI double. Rogers hit the third double of the inning with no outs the next at-bat, before scoring both with his one-out single.

Torkelson was the second batter up in the second inning and got in front of a 91 mph middle-high fastball and turned on it for a 405-foot home run to left. The home run had a 104.7 mph exit velocity.

Detroit added more insurance with the long ball in the fifth and sixth innings. After a leadoff double from Mark Canha then walk by Gio Urshela, Kelly hit a three-run home run into the bullpen in left field. He pulled a middle-in changeup 360 feet just over the wall. The next inning, Matt Vierling answered two more Toronto runs with a solo shot to left to make it 9-5 Tigers.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Matt Vierling's 3-run walk-off home run gives Detroit Tigers big win