Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi prepares during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, May 26, 2024, in Detroit.
12:03 JST, May 27, 2024
DETROIT (AP) — Matt Vierling homered twice, including a three-run tiebreaking drive off Jordan Romano in the ninth inning, that gave Detroit a wild 14-11 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday after the Tigers blew a five-run lead and recovered from a two-run deficit.
Vierling had four hits and tied his career highs with two home runs and four RBIs.
“My brother and I in the backyard, we used to do situations like this all the time,” Vierling said. “It’ll be cool if it actually happens.”
Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer and Spencer Torkelson hit a solo shot for Detroit, which led 5-0 after three innings, 8-3 after five and 9-5 after six. The Tigers set a season high in points and tied their career high with 17 hits.
Torkelson had three singles and scored three runs.
“He’s very easy to find,” Torkelson said of Vierling. “To see him come through, we had all the confidence in the world and confidence that he would get the job done there. That’s exactly what he did.”
Toronto’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa homered in the seventh off Tyler Holton, and the Blue Jays took an 11-9 lead with a five-run eighth when Bo Bichette hit a two-run single off Jason Foley and Daulton Varsho hit a three-run homer . .
Toronto manager John Schneider took some solace in the way his team fought back.
“It’s easy to stop after that and the boys did the exact opposite,” he said. “Chipped and came back with huge hits from Bo and Varsh.”
Mark Canha tied the score with a two-run single against Yimi García in the second half, his third goal.
Vierling, who hit a solo homer in the fifth off Zach Pop, drove a full-count slider from Romano (1-2) over the left field wall for his first big league walk-off hit. Romano is a two-time All-Star and has allowed three home runs this year, half his total last season.
“I was ready for that throw where he threw me 3-2,” Vierling said. “I was also hoping for a 2-2, but it was low and I could control my swing enough. The next throw was the same throw, just a little higher.”
Mason Englert (1-0) pitched a hitless ninth for the Tigers (26-27), who won the final three games of a four-game series against the last-place Blue Jays (23-29).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had his second four-hit game of the season for the Blue Jays.
Detroit starter Casey Mize gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi allowed five runs and eight hits in three innings. Mize and Kikuchi are each 0-3 in their six starts.
