Tigers' Greene, McKinstry provide spark in 5-3 win over Orioles in opener

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on Jun 10, 2025

Published in Baseball

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BALTIMORE — The talk coming into the game was how could the Tigers neutralize the Orioles and their potent crop of left-handed hitters.

Should have been the other way around, because it was the Tigers’ versatile and opportunistic offense that carried the night.

With lefty-swinging Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry providing the spark against lefty starter Cade Povich, the Tigers opened the three-game set at Camden Yards Tuesday night with a 5-3 win over the Orioles.

With the win, the Tigers (44-24) are 20 games over .500 for the first time since the end of 2013 when they finished 93-69. They also improve to 21-15 on the road and 16-2 against teams from the American League East.

McKinstry came into the game hitting .358 against lefties, which was the second highest average by a lefty and against a lefty in baseball. He padded that stat with a pair of triples off Povich.

They were his sixth and seventh three-baggers of the year, tying him with Boston’s Jarren Duran for most in the majors.

Greene started his day by working a 10-pitch walk off Povich and it was clear he was on every pitch, whether he swung or took it.

He singled in the third, then doubled and scored in a three-run fifth.

The Tigers plated four of their runs with two outs, something they also lead baseball in — two-out runs (139).

Switch-hitter Wenceel Perez, whose sacrifice fly scored McKinstry in the second, doubled off the left-field wall with two outs in the fourth and was delivered home by a opposite-field single by Javier Baez.

In the fifth, Greene doubled with two outs and scored on a single by Dillon Dingler. Spencer Torkelson followed with a 419-foot, two-run homer to dead center that center fielder Colton Cowser just missed bringing back with a leaping attempt at the wall.

It was his 16th homer and it came on a 3-2 pitch. Ten of his 16 bombs have come in two-strike counts.

Now back to the Tigers’ pitching strategy.

Because the Orioles feature such a left-handed heavy lineup, and because right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long was making his second start back after missing 18 months, manager AJ Hinch used lefty Brant Hurter to “open” the game.

And Hurter validated his manager’s strategy.

He ended up going 2 2/3 innings, getting through the dangerous top of the Orioles’ batting order twice before departing.

The only smudge was a world-class at-bat by Gunnar Henderson. Henderson was going to be Hurter’s last batter, regardless. Righty Chase Lee was warming for right-handed hitter Ramon Laureano, who was due up after Henderson.

And with two outs and Jackson Holliday at second, Hurter emptied the tank. He mixed power sinkers and sweepers and got ahead 1-2. But Henderson kept spoiling pitches and taking smartly laying off a couple just off the edge.

Finally, on the10th pitch, Henderson hit a laser into right-center to score the run.

But mission accomplished for Hurter.

After Lee punched out Laureano, the runway was clear for Gipson-Long and he took off.

Gipson-Long breezed from the fourth through the seventh, allowing just one hit with five strikeouts. The velocity on all of his pitches ticked up from his first outing (four-seamer at 94.5 mph) but he was leaning heavily on his change-up, which induced six whiffs on 11 swings.

Fittingly, it was the top of the Orioles’ order, the one Hinch sought to negate by starting Hurter, left the only mark against Gipson-Long. Holliday doubled and scored on a long sacrifice fly to the wall in left by Adley Rutschman.

A double by Henderson, the only change-up put in play by the Orioles, ended Gipson-Long’s night.

Tommy Kahnle got the final out of the eighth (striking out Ryan O’Hearn). Will Vest gave up a leadoff homer to Jordan Westburg to start the ninth, just the second he's allowed this season, before getting the final three outs to earn his 11th save.