DETROIT — You can call it the Riley Greene effect if you want, the Tigers don’t really care. This was just long overdue.
After a long string of zeros, the Tigers finally put some crooked numbers on the scoreboard, a lot of them. They scored a season-high 14 runs and snapped a six-game losing streak, beating the Texas Rangers, 14-7, on Saturday before an announced crowd of 28,179 at Comerica Park.
Greene, the Tigers’ top prospect, made his MLB debut and dumped an opposite-field single to shallow left field in his first at-bat. He ended up reaching base four times — two opposite-field singles (both off left-handed pitchers) and two walks. He also scored twice.
The last Tigers player to reach base four times in his big league debut was Scott Livingstone in 1991.
Fellow rookies Spencer Torkelson and Kody Clemens each had two hits. Clemens knocked in two runs, his first two in the big leagues.
And kids’ day at the ballpark is typically on Sunday.
The Tigers banged out 19 hits, one shy of their season high, and even knocked a few balls out of the park.
After scoring just one run over the last 35 innings and being shut out for the 10th time Friday, Robbie Grossman set the tone by lining a home run over the fence in left field in the first inning. It was his first home run of the season, ending a 190 at-bat drought.
After Eric Haase doubled, Javier Báez bashed a hanging slider from Texas’ lefty starter Taylor Hearn and hit into the Rangers’ bullpen in left center.
The Tigers hadn’t hit multiple homers in a game since May 29. Báez, who now has four homers, hadn’t hit one since May 22.
The Tigers broke it open with five runs in the fourth inning, all plated after there were two out, highlighted by a three-run homer by Haase. Torkelson started the inning with a 397-foot double to left-center. With two outs, Willi Castro, Grossman and Miguel Cabrera singled.
Haase, who had three hits on the day, greeted reliever Jesus Tinoco by depositing a 2-0 sinker into the seats in left.
Greene created a run with his legs in the fifth. He led off the inning with a walk, went to second on a single by Torkelson, to third on a fly out to right and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Clemens.
Torkelson scored on a triple by Willi Castro.
Cabrera started a three-run sixth inning with a double. It was his 604th career double, moving him past Cal Ripken into 16th place all time.
Rony Garcia earned the win and a quality start, allowing three earned runs in six innings.
He gave up a 410-foot home run to Adolis Garcia in the first inning then nothing else through five innings. He set down 13 straight hitters. The Rangers got to him in the sixth, though, scoring three times. Leody Taveras doubled and scored and Corey Seager belted his 14th home run of the season.
The third run of the inning was unearned. Garcia tripled to left center and scored when shortstop Báez’s relay throw sailed into the Tigers’ dugout. It was Báez’s second error and third misplay in the last two games.
