DETROIT -- Alex Faedo took the mound against the Padres with a lot to prove.

He first missed more than a month with a split fingernail on his middle finger that caused recurring blisters on his pitching hand. Then, he was sharp early but rough late during his one-game return before he was shipped to Triple-A for the past two weeks. Faedo knew Sunday’s series finale against the Padres was a big day.

The Tigers’ bullpen, which worked four innings on Friday and another seven on Saturday, was also hoping Faedo would provide some much-needed relief.

All of that, plus opposing Joe Musgrove -- and his 9-2 record -- and facing a San Diego lineup that had homered five times through the first two games of the series meant Faedo knew another outing filled with “a lot of pros, a lot of cons” like his previous start wasn’t going to cut it.

And so, he cut out a lot of the cons.

“He hung in there mentally and physically to go through a lineup that he hasn't seen a ton,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He's seen the damage the last couple of days, and he knows the names. He stayed locked in mentally after a few misfires here and there, got some really big outs, especially in the sixth.

“We're extending him as far as we possibly can, asked a lot out of him, and he delivered.”

Aided by a defense that turned three crucial double plays behind him, Faedo held the Padres scoreless on a single hit over six innings during Detroit’s 3-1 win in the finale.

“I don't think anything was different about him as much as, you know, we want these guys to take steps forward,” Hinch said. “A lot of times, we want them to take quantum leaps, and then sometimes, it's just one foot in front of the other.”

Faedo entered play with a career 3.59 ERA in innings 1-3, a number that ballooned to 10.27 in innings 4-6. As his numbers continue to suggest that he might be better suited in some sort of long-relief role, the 27-year-old works to build a case in the opposite direction.

Perhaps the biggest vote of confidence in Faedo’s favor was the fact that when he jogged out to the mound to start the sixth with 76 pitches under his belt, and the top of the Padres order staring him down, no one was throwing in Detroit’s bullpen.

“For a younger guy to come up with that lineup and those kinds of names and attack the strike zone, 'Here's my best stuff,' I thought he showed a lot of maturity,” said catcher Eric Haase.

A five-pitch walk to Ha-Seong Kim to lead off the frame brought pitching coach Chris Fetter to the mound for a chat and Fernando Tatis Jr. to the plate.

Faedo had walked the leadoff batter twice before, in the first and third innings, and each time, the infield came up with a double play on the next play. Faedo did his part the third time around, too, coaxing Tatis into a grounder to begin the 5-4-3 special.

“The defense honestly saved my outing; probably won the game for us today,” Faedo said. “Three double plays? It's nuts.”

San Diego slugger Juan Soto -- who’d mashed a pair of tape-measure homers in the opener -- flew out harmlessly to right on the next play, completing the frame and Faedo’s day.

Soto, who went 4-for-8 and collects six RBIs in the first two games in Detroit, went 0-for-3 on Sunday, and the heart of the Friars’ order finished 0-for-11.

“With a lineup like that, one through nine are all guys that can not only hit it out of the yard but put in the gap and do everything with the stick,” Faedo said. “I feel like you’ve got to be able to stay out of the middle [of the strike zone], so that was kind of my approach, just live and die on the corners.”

Faedo’s teammates backed him early, with Spencer Torkelson connecting on a payoff pitch in the first inning for his 15th homer of the season. It was just the ninth home run Musgrove had allowed this year.

Musgrove hit double digits two innings later when Andy Ibáñez took him deep on the first pitch of the third to push Detroit’s lead to 2-0. Kerry Carpenter’s two-out, run-scoring single rounded out the Tigers’ scoring, but the way Faedo was dealing, three runs were plenty.