Tigers vs Rays Recap: Dingler, Rogers power Detroit to 7-2 win

You've got to give the Tigers credit. After pounding the Rays 8-0 just yesterday, Detroit came ready for more. The Rays were in trouble from pitch one at Tropicana Field in Tampa. Gleyber Torres led things off and sprinted home on a single by Dillon Dingler. One pitch into the game and the Tigers were up 1-0. The Rays answered right back when Junior Caminero's single brought home Yandy Diaz to tie it at 1-1. But Detroit wasn't done attacking. Jake Rogers launched a bomb to left field in the second inning. The ball rocketed off his bat like a shot and cleared the wall. Just like that, the Tigers grabbed a 2-1 lead. Cedric Mullins smacked one back for Tampa in the bottom of the second, a rocket to right-center that made it 2-2.

The fourth inning is where Dillon Dingler took over the game. Nick Martinez was struggling for Tampa, and Dingler made him pay big time. The Tigers slugger crushed a changeup and watched it soar deep to left field. One swing. Two runs scored. Suddenly the Tigers led 6-2 and the game felt over. But wait—there was still baseball to play. Let's look at what happened in the third. Spencer Torkelson lifted a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Kevin McGonigle. That made it 3-2 Tigers. The Rays couldn't catch up. Martinez gave up too much too quickly. Troy Melton was dealing on the mound for Detroit, striking out five batters and walking just two. Melton went eight innings and allowed only four hits. The Rays were frustrated and running out of time.

The ninth inning showed how completely Detroit controlled this game. Kerry Carpenter stepped up with two outs and lofted a sacrifice fly to center field. Gleyber Torres trotted home. That made it 7-2 Tigers. Game over. Final score: Detroit 7, Tampa Bay 2. You could see the difference on the field. The Tigers' offense was sharp and hungry. Dingler went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs. Torres went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Rogers added two hits and a home run. Meanwhile, Troy Melton's pitching was nearly perfect. The Tigers improved to 26-38 with this road win and extended their winning streak to three straight games. Tampa Bay fell to 36-23 at home. The Rays came in winning but left losing their third straight. These teams will play again, but today belonged to Detroit.