Riley Greene homered in a six-run first inning as the Detroit Tigers defeated the host Seattle Mariners 9-6 on Monday night for their first victory of the season.
Dillon Dingler, Trey Sweeney and Javier Baez, the bottom three batters in Detroit’s lineup, each went 3-for-5 to contribute to an 18-hit attack.
Tyler Holton (1-0) got the victory in relief of top prospect Jackson Jobe, who made his first major-league start.
Jobe, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, allowed three runs on three hits – two of them solo homers – over four innings, with three strikeouts. The right-hander didn’t last the required five innings to earn the victory as four walks led him to throw 79 pitches.
Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (0-1), the No. 6 overall pick in 2020, didn’t make it out of the first. He allowed six runs on seven hits in two-thirds of an inning, with one walk and no strikeouts, to put his ERA at 81.00.
Detroit’s Justyn-Henry Malloy led off the game with a double to right field and scored on Kerry Carpenter line-drive single to right. After Carpenter was thrown out trying to steal second, Greene launched a 3-2 sinker on the outside corner over the left field wall. Spencer Torkelson reached on an infield single and Colt Keith walked before Zach McKinstry flied out to left.
Dingler blooped a two-out single into shallow left field to make it 3-0 and Sweeney hit a looping liner just over leaping shortstop J.P. Crawford to drive in another run. Baez lined a two-run double off the base of the wall in left to make it 6-0 and end Hancock’s night.
Seattle’s Randy Arozarena led off the second with a homer to left-center.
The Tigers got that run back in the third on Carpenter’s two-out double to center.
The Mariners scored in the bottom of the inning as Crawford walked, Victor Robles doubled
and Julio Rodriguez hit an RBI groundout.
Keith doubled in the fourth and scored on Dingler’s two-out single.
Luke Raley homered leading off the bottom of the inning to make it 8-3.
The Mariners tallied again in the fifth as Rodriguez led off with a triple off Brenan Hanifee and came home on Jorge Polanco’s two-out single.
The Tigers scored their last run in the seventh on singles by Dingler, Baez and Malloy.
Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
