Riley Greene hit two home runs in the ninth inning tonight, marking the the first two home run inning for a Tiger since Magglio Ordóñez hit two home runs in the second inning against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 12, 2007.
Tigers' Riley Greene makes MLB history with 2-homer 9th inning.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Riley Greene didn't want to dwell on becoming the first player in major league history to homer twice in the ninth inning of a game.The Detroit Tigers' slugger hit a leadoff shot and then added a three-run blast later in the inning in a 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Yeah, I just found that out -- pretty cool," Greene said after fueling an eight-run, seven-hit outburst in the ninth. "But the game is over. We got to show up tomorrow and try to win another baseball game."
The score was tied 1-1 when Greene, facing Angels closer Kenley Jansen, led off the ninth with a 371-foot homer off the top of the right-field wall.
Colt Keith followed with a homer to left-center for a 2-1 lead, Jace Jung singled with one out, and Javier Báez hit a two-out, two-run shot to left for a 5-1 lead, giving the Tigers' center fielder home runs in three straight games.
The Tigers, who have an American League-best 21-12 record, weren't through. Kerry Carpenter singled, Zach McKinstry doubled, knocking Jansen out of the game, and Carpenter scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-1.
Spencer Torkelson walked, giving Greene a shot at history, and the cleanup man seized the moment, crushing a 409-foot homer to right-center off left-hander Jake Eder for a 9-1 lead.
Greene is the first Tigers player to hit two homers in an inning since Magglio Ordonez did so in the second inning against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 12, 2007. The only other Tigers player to homer twice in an inning is Hall of Famer Al Kaline against the Kansas City A's on April 17, 1955, in the sixth inning.
"He's made an All-Star team, he's been a featured player on our team, he hits in the middle of the order, he gets all the toughest matchups, and he asks for more," Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said of Greene, who is batting .276 with an .828 OPS, 7 homers and 20 RBIs this season.
"You want guys to be rewarded when they work as hard as they do, and tonight was a huge night for him."
Greene joined the Angels' Jo Adell as the only players to hit multiple homers in an inning this season. Adell did it April 10 at Tampa Bay, in the fifth inning.
It was the second straight night in which the Tigers have landed a few late-inning haymakers in Anaheim. Detroit scored eight runs on seven hits in the eighth and ninth innings of Thursday night's 10-4 victory over the Angels, who have lost seven straight and 15 of their past 19 games.
"There's no quit in our team," said ace Tarik Skubal, who gave up 1 run and 4 hits and struck out 8 in 6 innings Friday night. "We grind out at-bats, we don't give away at-bats, and I think our record shows that. They grind out starters, relievers ... I know I wouldn't want to face a lineup like that. Every at-bat, they're in it."
Red Sox's Triston Casas hospitalized with knee injury.
BOSTON -- Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered what manager Alex Cora called a "significant" left knee injury after he awkwardly fell near first base in the bottom of the second inning against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.Speaking after Boston's 6-1 win, Cora said Casas was taken to a local hospital, where he was undergoing more tests on the knee. He said the team would have more information Saturday.
Casas sent a slow roller up the first-base line that Twins starter Joe Ryan bobbled before making an underhand throw to first baseman Ty France. Casas, who was ruled safe on the Ryan error, collapsed to the ground holding his knee as he crossed the bag.
He was carried off the field on a stretcher and replaced by Romy Gonzalez.
Seemed like he was in shock, to be honest with you," Cora told reporters. "He said it right away that he didn't feel it. .... It's tough.
"He put so much effort in the offseason. I know how he works. Everything he went through in the offseason getting ready for this. He was looking forward to having a big season for us. It didn't start the way he wanted, but he kept grinding, kept working. And now this happened."
Casas entered Friday hitting .184 with three home runs in 28 games.
