Detroit — The Tigers treated a sellout crowd of 44,735 revelers to a very systematic and satisfying victory on a chilly home-opener at Comerica Park Friday, beating the Chicago White Sox, 7-4.
Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene provided the thump.
Carpenter hit a pair of home runs, drilling one off the foul pole in right field off right-handed starter Jonathan Cannon in the first inning and then going oppo into the Tigers’ bullpen in left off lefty reliever Brandon Eisert in the fourth.
Greene, who also singled and doubled in the game, launched a 417-foot home run to the back of the right field seats in the sixth inning. He barreled a 3-1 cutter from reliever Bryse Wilson. The ball left his bat with an exit velocity of 114.3 mph.
Greene’s third homer of the year was also the third hardest-hit home run by a Tiger in the Statcast era.
The Tigers exerted pressure on the White Sox defense with some aggressive base running, too, specifically exploiting the subpar throwing arms of the White Sox corner outfielders.
In the third inning, Cannon set the table by hitting Spencer Torkelson and walking Colt Keith. Zach McKinstry ripped a hard single to right field, where Travis Jankowski fielded the ball just as Torkelson was rounding third base.
▶ BOX SCORE: Tigers 7, White Sox 4
Third base coach Joey Cora never stopped waving his arm. Jankowski’s throw was up the line and took a high bounce, allowing Torkelson to score.
Keith scored on a ground out by Dillon Dingler.
In the fourth, it was Torkelson’s turn to make Greene run. Greene doubled following Carpenter’s second home run and Torkelson followed with a single to short left field.
Greene challenged the arm of left fielder Andrew Benintendi and won easily.
Trey Sweeney tripled to deepest right-center field in the fifth, scoring McKinstry, who had recorded his second hit of the game.
And speaking of systematic — the way Tigers starter Jack Flaherty maneuvered his way through the White Sox lineup was nothing but.
He gave up a double in each of the first two innings, the second, by Brooks Baldwin, scored the lone Chicago run until the ninth inning.
From that point on, until he left to a standing ovation with two outs in the sixth, Flaherty allowed one single and one walk. He finished with seven strikeouts.
It was a gritty effort considering the conditions. It was 50 degrees with a light breeze, certainly impacting the pitchers’ ability to grip the baseball. The velocity on Flaherty’s fastball, normally 93.6 mph, averaged 92.
But he was able to spot it well enough to make it effective and he was able to spin his slider effectively off it.
The White Sox scored three runs in the ninth off reliever Kenta Maeda, aided by a misplayed line drive in center field by Ryan Kreidler. He came in on a liner by Korey Lee and it sailed over his head for a double.
The Tigers have won 14 of their last 17 home openers and are 17-9 since Comerica Park opened in 2000.
@cmccosky
