ARLINGTON – Riley Greene has been swinging a hot bat in recent days.
The Tigers' left fielder went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and finished a double shy of the cycle during Detroit’s 6-3 victory over the Rangers on Sunday at Globe Life Field.
Greene was 6-for-13 with one double, a triple, two home runs, and six RBIs in the series, as Detroit took two of three from the Rangers. He hit the go-ahead home run in the Tigers’ victory Saturday.
The Rangers intentionally walked Greene with a runner on third in the ninth inning of the finale.
Over the course of the Tigers’ two-city, six-game road trip, Greene, selected for his third consecutive All-Star Game on Saturday, hit .400 (8-for-20) with one double, a triple, four home runs and 10 RBIs.
“I got pitches I could handle and found the barrel,” he said. “I'm feeling good and seeing it well.”
Greene also made a splendid snare of Brandon Nimmo’s drive to left in the third in support of right-hander Casey Mize (4-5), who earned the victory by allowing two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Mize struck out four, walked one and lowered his ERA to 2.64 while picking up his second consecutive win.
Mize has gone 2-1 with a 3.37 ERA over his past four starts, allowing nine earned runs over 24 innings. He has scattered 20 hits while striking out 23 and walking four, providing the Tigers with a steady presence.
Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save of the season. The Tigers’ bullpen allowed one run on one hit in 2 1/3 innings.
“I don't think I executed my best, but I was still able to go get 20 outs,” Mize said. “The defense played great behind me, and offensively, they put up plenty. So it kind of allowed me just to settle in and try to attack the strike zone and go from there, even when I wasn't at my best.”
Manager A.J. Hinch said before the game that he pulled Mize into his office Saturday after Mize was left off the All-Star Game roster. “I didn't want it to go unnoticed what he's done for our team,” Hinch said.
Since returning from the injured list in mid-June, Mize has settled back into top form. Sunday marked his second consecutive quality start, coming one outing after arguably the best performance of his career, when he allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings with a career-high-tying 10 strikeouts at Yankee Stadium on June 29. He also struck out six over 5 2/3 innings in a tough-luck loss to the Yankees on June 23 and opened the stretch with a solid return from the IL against Milwaukee on June 17.
The Tigers went 5-1 on the road trip. They have played much better since the end of May, going 18-12 since June 1, the best record in the AL over that span.
“It feels like we're fighting and hauling for every win,” Mize said. “So to have this successful road trip is important … to give us some momentum coming back home before the All-Star break. There are a couple of big series ahead. So to walk away with a win here going into an off-day, super, super important game.”
Detroit, which moved to 40-50 on the season, returns home for three games against the Athletics beginning Tuesday.
Greene began the game with a single in the second and added a two-run home run in the fourth, both off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker (2-7). His two-run triple off lefty Robby Ahlstrom broke the game open in the fifth. Greene flied out in the seventh but returned to the plate for a fifth time with two outs in the ninth and Kerry Carpenter at third.
Down three runs, the Rangers took a hard pass and gave Greene a free pass to first.
“I always want to hit, but it is what it is,” Greene said. “The game kind of dictates what happens, and you can't be mad at it.”