Baseball

Kenta Maeda Gets Roughed Up for Seven Runs in Two Innings; Tigers Outslug Guardians 11-7

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda wipes his face as he walks off the field after the second inning of the team’s baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Cleveland.

10:48 JST, May 8, 2024

CLEVELAND (AP) — Andy Ibáñez homered his first two times up and drove in four runs and Ryan Vilade got his first major league hit and three RBIs in his debut for Detroit, leading the Tigers to an 11-7 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.

Ibáñez homered on the third pitch of the game from Logan Allen and added a three-run shot in the second. Ibáñez hit a double in the eighth inning and finished 4 for 4 with a walk and four runs.

Vilade, who was recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Toledo, singled home two runs in the third off Pedro Avila (1-1) and another in the seventh to put the Tigers up 9-7. His first plate appearance and hit as a major leaguer spanned 963 days.

Matt Vierling’s two-run single in the eighth helped Detroit open a four-run lead.

Tigers reliever Tyler Holton (3-0) pitched three scoreless innings after starter Kenta Maeda got roughed up for seven runs in two innings.

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda wipes his face in the dugout after the second inning of the team’s baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Cleveland.

Josh Naylor hit a two-run homer and José Ramírez and Will Brennan had two RBIs apiece as Cleveland had its winning streak stopped at three.

Guardians rookie Kyle Manzardo went 0 for 4 and is hitless in seven at-bats with five strikeouts since being promoted on Monday.

Ibáñez’s second homer off Allen put the Tigers up 5-2. Allen lasted just 2 1/3 innings.

Javier Báez hit a two-out RBI single before Allen walked No. 9 hitter Carson Kelly and Ibáñez followed by driving a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right for his second career two-homer game.

The Guardians responded in their half by scoring five runs — four on Ramírez’s two-run double and Naylor’s ninth homer, a two-run shot that made it 7-5.

The Tigers tied it in the third when Vilade, playing in his first major league game since 2021 with Colorado, got his first hit and RBIs as a major leaguer.

For the second straight game, the Tigers led off with a homer as Ibáñez connected against Allen. On Monday, Detroit’s Riley Greene homered on the first pitch from Triston McKenzie — the Tigers’ only run in a 2-1 loss.