DETROIT — Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run home run to highlight a three-run outburst in the eighth inning as the Detroit Tigers rallied for a 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night.
After Miami got a two-run homer from Otto Lopez in the top of the eighth to take a 5-3 lead, Wenceel Pérez doubled off Anthony Maldonado (0-1) with one out and scored on Andy Ibáñez's base hit. Matt Vierling struck out before Torkelson hit a 1-2 slider a career-long 446 feet over the Miami bullpen in left-center field.
''The guys put together some really good at-bats and I wanted to keep it going,'' Torkelson said. ''I was hoping to get something up that I could drive and that's what happened.''
The loss was the first of Maldonado's eight-game MLB career.
''The slider is (Maldonado's) out pitch, so he's got to throw it there,'' Marlins manager Skip Schumacher said. ''He just failed to expand the zone. It backed up and hung middle-up to a really dangerous hitter and unfortunately, he didn't miss it.''
The homer came one day after Torkelson, who hit 31 homers last year, got his first of the season in a 9-3 loss to the Houston Astros.
''I feel really good for him — you could see the emotion when he hit it,'' Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. ''This has been a long stretch for him, but he came up big in a big spot.''
The Tigers won for the third time in 10 games, while Miami dropped to 2-8 in their last 10.