DETROIT -- Max Clark’s first home run at Comerica Park was big enough to lift the Tigers out of a six-game losing streak. His go-ahead two-run drive off Rays lefty Ian Seymour powered Detroit to its first lead of the series en route to a 4-1 win Tuesday night at Comerica Park.
Clark hit his first MLB homer on Aug. 1 against the Athletics in Sacramento, then had gone homerless for the past few weeks. He’d tested the depths of Comerica Park a couple times, but had done most of his damage slashing the gaps. That changed when Seymour, who had tossed two scoreless innings since taking over for opener Casey Legumina, left a sweeper over the plate that had been intended for the outside corner.
Clark sent Seymour’s sweeper into the right-field seats for a 2-1 lead. He had to slow up a step rounding the bases to avoid catching Javier Báez on the basepaths before he touched home plate.
The drive gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening inning of Sunday’s series finale in Kansas City. Gleyber Torres singled and scored on a Jonathan Aranda error later in the inning for the Tigers’ first multi-run lead since last Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
The rally earned lefty reliever Drew Sommers his first big league victory against his original organization, having retired all five batters he faced following 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball from starter Jackson Jobe. The Rays, who didn’t swing and miss once against Framber Valdez in Monday’s series opener, tested Jobe in his third start back from Tommy John surgery, but Jobe escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth inning with a strikeout of Richie Palacios and a groundout from Taylor Walls to keep the Tigers close.