Matt Vierling's 3-run walk-off home run gives Detroit Tigers electric 14-11 win over Jays

The Detroit Tigers seemingly found the most painful way yet to blow a lead this season, surrendering multiple five-run advantages on Sunday to fall behind the Toronto Blue Jays by two runs in the eighth inning.

But the Tigers had heroes in the eighth and ninth innings, including the star of the day, Matt Vierling.

Vierling, the Tigers' leadoff hitter, turned on a 3-2 low-and-in slider and blasted it 409 feet for a walk-off three-run home run to give the Tigers the 14-11 win and series victory at an enthused Comerica Park. Spencer Torkelson started the ninth inning with a single and pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter was intentionally walked, setting up Vierling to win it for the Tigers with two outs. It was the first walk-off home run in Vierling's MLB career.

"That's something you always dreamed about as a kid, something like that," said Vierling, who homered twice on Sunday. "My brother and I in the backyard, we'd always be doing situations like that so it's kind of cool when actually happens."

The heroics were set up by a two-RBI single by Mark Canha in the bottom of the eighth inning to re-tie the game at 11 and a scoreless top of the ninth from Mason Englert. It was the first time Detroit held Toronto scoreless since the third inning, coming at the perfect time to make sure Vierling could be the hero.

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The Tigers surrendered a lead that was as big as 8-3 in the fifth inning by giving up eight runs between the sixth and eighth innings. The Tigers' bullpen, no matter who was out there, couldn't stop Toronto's offense despite the strong run support.

After Vierling's solo home run gave Detroit a 9-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Toronto scored six straight runs to flip the game on its head. The Tigers had jumped out to a big lead early in hopes of securing their third straight win and a series victory.

"It was kind of a wild game, just going back and forth," catcher Jake Rogers said. "I don't think I've seen that in awhile."

Isiah Kiner-Falefa made it 9-6 with a solo home run in the seventh inning off Tyler Holton, who then gave up a single and a walk with one out in the eighth before giving way to Jason Foley. Foley got one out but then gave up a two-RBI single to Bo Bichette, a walk and a three-run home run to Daulton Varsho to make it 11-9 Toronto.

The Tigers provided starter Casey Mize with a bushel of early run support, building a 5-0 lead by the end of the third inning as he grinded through 4⅓ innings, giving up three runs and eight hits without a strikeout.

"He did a really good job getting into at-bats and then it looked like every at-bat he would get ahead, it would end up being 3-2," manager A.J. Hinch said. "So, he had a hard time finishing and then they chipped away."

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Mize didn't have his best stuff but escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third innings before giving up a two-run home run in the third inning to Cavan Biggio. He was pulled one out into the fifth with a runner on base that eventually scored, which made it 5-3, Detroit.

Detroit jumped on Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi in the bottom of the second inning with a pair of two-run hits from Javier Báez and Andy Ibáñez. Báez drove in Torkelson and Wenceel Pérez with a double, and Ibáñez drove in Báez and Jake Rogers with a single to put the Tigers ahead, 4-0.

Torkelson increased the lead to five in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season. Mize was pulled in the top of the fifth inning after giving up a leadoff double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who later scored on a groundball by Justin Turner.

Designated hitter Carson Kelly pushed the lead back to five with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double from Canha and a walk by Gio Urshela to make it 8-3.

"I think we're getting a little bit of momentum," Vierling said. "I think we had a tough series, that last one, but being able to play against these guys and find a little bit of momentum and kind of just start riding that, it's pretty good."

Mize grinds through start

Mize fared better Sunday than his previous start where he didn't make it out of the second inning in Kansas City, giving up six earned runs before getting hooked after 1⅔ innings.

Mize rebounded though, throwing 86 pitches in 4⅓ innings, giving up three earned runs on eight hits and two walks. He did not record a strikeout in a start for the first time in his major league career.

"I felt fine," Mize said. "Just didn't throw the ball well to start. (That's) two starts in a row now where I haven't thrown the ball well so obviously that's disappointing, but the offense picked us up today."

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His outing started smoothly with a 1-2-3 inning on 12 pitches in the top of the first, but threw 36 pitches in the second inning. He walked Daniel Vogelbach to lead it off, followed by a flyout then an infield single by Kiner-Falefa. He walked Biggio to load the bases before escaping on the lineout to second.

Danny Jensen, Guerrero and Bichette all hit singles to the outfield to load the bases with no outs in the third inning, but none deep enough to score a run. Ibáñez caught a line drive from Vogelbach and then doubled off Bichette at first before a Varsho groundout. In the fourth, Biggio hit a 95 mph fastball down the middle from Mize for a two-run home run to cut the Tigers' lead to 5-2.

Mize's fastball averaged 95.9 mph and generated seven whiffs (three fastballs, two sinkers, one slider, one splitter) on 40 swings by Toronto for a 17.5% whiff percentage.

"Just trying to do too much in those counts," Mize said about his lack of punchouts. "Just not executing pitches early and then there's too many big misses where I'm trying to do too much."

Tigers build early lead, use bombs for insurance

Torkelson got things going with a line drive double on a low curveball down the left field line in the second inning and moved to third on a single from Pérez. Báez golf-swung at a low changeup near his ankles and sent the ball into deep left-center for the RBI double. Rogers hit the third double of the inning with no outs the next at-bat, before scoring both with his one-out single.

Torkelson was the second batter up in the third inning and got in front of a 91 mph middle-high fastball and turned on it for a 405-foot home run to left. The home run had a 104.7 mph exit velocity. Torkelson, who was off yesterday, said Hinch did a good job getting him the rest to reset.

"I wasn't fully synced up and put a lot of work in yesterday with the hitting guys," Torkelson said after his three-hit performance. "Just finding my rhythm, getting synced up again. And that's exactly what happened."

Detroit added more insurance with the long ball in the fifth. After a leadoff double from Canha then a walk by Urshela, Kelly hit a three-run home run into the bullpen in left field. He pulled a middle-in changeup 360 feet just over the wall.

Next up: Pirates

Matchup: Tigers (26-27) vs. Pittsburgh (25-29).

First pitch: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday; Comerica Park, Detroit.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Probable pitchers: Tigers — LHP Tarik Skubal (6-1, 2.25 ERA); Pirates — RHP Jared Jones (3-4, 3.05).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Matt Vierling's 3-run walk-off home run gives Detroit Tigers big win