Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry and Matt Vierling hit two-run homers and the host Detroit Tigers slugged their way to an 11-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
The game was called after 8 1/3 innings due to inclement weather and poor field conditions.
Carpenter, McKinstry and Vierling drove in three runs apiece. Gleyber Torres had two hits, including a homer, and scored twice.
Detroit starter Jack Flaherty was charged with five runs in four-plus innings. He allowed three hits and four walks and hit three batters. He also struck out six.
Brant Hunter (1-0) picked up the win, tossing one inning of scoreless relief.
Jordan Walker hit a grand slam and drove in five for the Cardinals. Starter Dustin May (0-2) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. May walked two and whiffed four.
Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Colt Keith led off with a single that deflected off May. After a strikeout, Torres singled to center. When Victor Scott II mishandled the ball, Keith scored and Torres moved to second. Carpenter then hit his opposite-field shot.
St. Louis pushed across a run in the third. Ivan Herrera led off with a double and scored on Walker’s two-out single to left.
Detroit got that run back in the bottom of the frame. Kevin McGonigle singled, advanced on a wild pitch and groundout and scored on Carpenter’s sacrifice fly.
McKinstry’s homer, preceded by Dillon Dingler getting hit by a pitch, made it 6-1 in the fourth. The Tigers added another run in the inning when Parker Meadows’ fly ball fell in for a triple. He scored on Vierling’s sacrifice fly.
Flaherty hit JJ Wetherholt with a pitch and walked Herrera, leading to St. Louis’ five-run fifth. Alec Burleson doubled to drive in Wetherholt. After Nolan Gorman walked, Flaherty was removed in favor of Drew Anderson. Walker crushed Anderson’s second offering an estimated 459 feet over the left-center field wall to cut Detroit’s lead to 7-6.
After two-out walks to Riley Greene and Dingler in the bottom of the fifth, McKinstry followed with a run-scoring single.
Torres homered off Matt Svanson leading off the seventh. Vierling homered in the eighth off Chris Roycroft.
