Taiwan’s Lee fuels Tigers’ comeback

BOOKEND: Lee launched the Tigers’ eighth-inning rally and came back in the same frame to punctuate it with a 12-pitch at-bat that ended with a two-run triple

• Staff writer, with Reuters

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Taiwanese second baseman Lee Hao-yu on Saturday sparked a seven-run, eight-inning rally with a double and capped it with a two-run triple as the hosts Detroit Tigers downed the struggling Colorado Rockies, 11-7.

Lee had three hits, scored twice and drove in three runs. Max Clark supplied three hits while scoring a run and knocking in another. Eduardo Valencia also had three of Detroit’s 18 hits while Kevin McGonigle added a solo homer for the Tigers (69-79).

Detroit extended its winning streak to three games and handed Colorado its ninth consecutive road loss.

The Detroit Tigers’ Taiwanese second baseman Lee Hao-yu dives into home plate to score against the Colorado Rockies from second base on a hit by Colt Keith during the fourth inning of their MLB game at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday.

Photo: AFP

Detroit became the first team since the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 23, 2024, to have its leadoff batter reach safely in eight consecutive innings.

Hunter Goodman blasted a three-run homer for the Rockies (55-93), who have lost six straight.

Detroit starter Andrew Sears gave up four runs and seven hits in 4-1/3 innings. Colorado starter Tanner Gordon allowed four runs and 10 hits in four innings.

The Detroit Tigers’ Taiwanese second baseman Lee Hao-yu celebrates his two-run triple against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning of their MLB game at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday.

Photo: AFP

Down 7-4 in the eighth, the Tigers rallied against Jaden Hill (1-4). Lee led off with a double and scored on Gleyber Torres’ double. Riley Greene knocked in Torres with a single.

A single and a walk loaded the bases before Hill was replaced by Jordan Romano, who walked Spencer Torkelson and Ben Malgeri to force in the tying and go-ahead runs.

John Peck drove in Clark with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-7.

With two outs, Lee fouled off seven pitches as he worked Romano to throw 12 total pitches, before ripping a four-seam fastball for an opposite-field triple to bring in Torkelson and Malgeri.

After sliding into third, Lee leapt to his feet, pumped his fists and let out a roar that fired up the home crowd.

“I’m hoping this experience for Lee, the experience for Peck, for Max [Clark], for Kevin [McGonigle] being a seasoned veteran compared to some of the young guys coming up, everything matters,” MLB.com’s Jason Beck quoted Detroit manager A.J. Hinch as saying. “And a day like today will be sort of a place on the calendar that guys can reference when we’re in this spot again.”

Colorado had took a 3-0 lead in the third on Goodman’s 38th homer, but Detroit got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, before the Rockies again took the lead in the fourth.

The Tigers knotted the score at 4-all in the bottom of the inning on Lee’s run-scoring double and Colt Keith’s RBI single.

Colorado regained the lead in the sixth on Jake McCarthy’s two-run single, then took a 7-4 lead on Ezequiel Tovar’s homer off Beau Brieske (1-0) in the top of the eighth.

Lee went 3-for-5 with a triple, two doubles, a walk, three RBIs and two runs.

Elsewhere, the Seattle Mariners set a franchise record for largest victory margin, as well as season bests for runs and hits, in a 19-1 rout of the Athletics in West Sacramento, California.

In New York, Francisco Lindor, Luis Torrens and rookie Carson Benge homered off Gerrit Cole, as the visiting Mets rolled to a 12-2 victory over the Yankees.

Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins edged Los Angeles 4-3 to end the Dodgers’ eight-game winning streak, the first-place Tampa Bay Rays overcame the Houston Astros 3-2 in St Petersburg, Florida, the Chicago White Sox beat hosts St Louis Cardinals 6-5 to snap a four-game losing streak and the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix to even their three-game series.

The Chicago Cubs sank the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3, the Atlanta Braves dominated the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 12-2, the Milwaukee Brewers devastated the visiting Cincinnati Reds 13-9 and the Boston Red Sox snapped a three-gaming losing streak with a 5-1 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals.

The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting bird the Baltimore Orioles 7-3, the San Diego Padres overcame hosts the San Francisco Giants 7-6 for a sixth consecutive win, the Washington Nationals pipped the visiting Los Angeles Angels 6-5 and the Minnesota Twins held on at home to beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3.