Joey Wendle, Dietrich Enns lead Rays to 7-2 win over Tigers
Sep 11, 2021, 6:05 AM | Updated: 7:52 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Joey Wendle tripled and homered, 30-year-old Dietrich Enns won for the first time in the major leagues and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-2 on Saturday.
Kevin Kiermaier doubled and tripled to help the Rays end a two-game losing streak.
Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera picked up his 2,974th career hit with an RBI single in the fourth.
Enns (1-0) struck out six in four hitless innings of relief, nine years after being drafted by the New York Yankees out of Central Michigan University.
Rays starter Chris Archer gave up one run on two hits before leaving after four innings with left hip discomfort.
Detroit’s Casey Mize (7-8), who is on a pitch limit, allowed three runs in two innings.
Wendle tripled with one out in the second. Mike Zunino followed with a grounder to third and Wendle beat Jeimer Candelario’s throw to the plate. Kiermaier followed with his second triple in as many games, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead.
After a walk, Brandon Lowe made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Wendle led off the fourth with a home run, and Lowe made it 5-0 with an RBI single later in the inning.
Jonathan Schoop led off the bottom of the inning with a double — Detroit’s first hit — and scored on Cabrera’s line single to right, but Randy Azorarena’s sacrifice fly restored Tampa Bay’s five-run lead in the fifth.
Austin Meadows made it 7-1 in the ninth with Tampa Bay’s third sacrifice fly before Robbie Grossman’s homer in the bottom of the inning.
MOVES
Rays: Placed INF Wander Franco (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list and optioned OF Josh Lowe to Triple-A Durham. Reinstated Azoarena from the paternity list and recalled INF Taylor Walls from Durham. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said before the game he hopes Franco can return this season.
Tigers: Placed LHP Matt Boyd (elbow) on the 10-day injured list and called up LHP Ian Krol from Triple-A Toledo.
LONG WAIT
Enns got his first big-league win in his 203rd professional game, but just his eighth in the majors. He has pitched in the Yankees, Twins, Padres and Rays minor-league systems, spent a winter in Venezuela and pitched in the 2020 City of Champions Cup independent league.
UP NEXT
The teams finish their weekend series on Sunday with Detroit’s Tarik Skubal (8-12, 4.30) facing Luis Patino (4-3, 4.65). The game has been moved up an hour to a 12:10 pm start because of the Lions’ home game across the street at Ford Field.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
