Trey Sweeney and Riley Greene each hit two-run homers, Kerry Carpenter added a three-run shot, and the visiting Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs 8-2 on Wednesday night.
Parker Meadows had two doubles, a single and three runs for Detroit, which won for the seventh time in its last nine games and evened the three-game series at a game apiece. Greene finished with three RBIs.
Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run homer for Chicago, which has scored a total of eight runs in its last four games but won two of those games. Seiya Suzuki contributed a pair of singles.
Left-hander Brant Hurter (1-1) followed opener Beau Brieske and allowed two runs over 3 2/3 innings for his first career victory. Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Holton and Joey Wentz combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings to close the game.
The Tigers took a 4-0 lead in the second inning against Jameson Taillon (8-8). Sweeney began the scoring with his first career homer, a 414-foot blast that barely cleared the center field wall.
After Meadows doubled with two outs, Greene hit a two-run shot to right-center field for his 18th homer this season and first since July 5.
Taillon retired nine straight batters before the Tigers put runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth inning. Detroit escaped unscathed after Taillon fanned Spencer Torkelson.
Taillon yielded four runs on six hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out five while throwing 96 pitches.
Bethancourt put the Cubs on the board with two outs in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer against Hurter. The 383-foot shot was Bethancourt’s fourth homer this season.
Chicago threatened with two runners on and one out in the seventh inning. Holton replaced Hanifee and escaped the jam when Ian Happ struck out and Patrick Wisdom flied out.
The Tigers extended their lead with four runs in the ninth inning against Jack Neely, who made his major league debut. Detroit put runners on the corners with two outs before Zach McKinstry scored on Greene’s single.
Carpenter followed with a three-run blast to left-center field for his 12th homer this season.
–Field Level Media