A.J. Hinch’s home-run jinx came due at Comerica Park as Tigers outslug Twins

The night began with a manager’s discomfort that A.J. Hinch did not try to hide. Earlier, Hinch had watched the Athletics and Brewers combine for a barrage of 11 home runs in Las Vegas and said he “wouldn’t wish that upon any manager,” describing the back-and-forth as something that felt like it “was never going to end.” Hours later, Hinch watched his own team enter a similarly chaotic, homer-heavy game at Comerica Park, where the Tigers and Twins combined for eight home runs through the first six innings.

Detroit took an early swing at the Twins’ pitching, and the opening stretch delivered immediate payoff. Dillon Dingler provided one of the game’s first big moments with a two-homer performance, including a leadoff solo shot in the first inning. Riley Greene also added power in the second, and the Tigers kept momentum growing with a Greene sacrifice fly in the third as the early lead changed hands with regularity.

The Twins answered in waves. In a sequence that tested the old idea that solo home runs are rarely enough, Minnesota repeatedly took advantage of the Tigers’ pitching, unloading four home runs in as many innings. Byron Buxton set the tone early for Detroit’s defensive challenge, lining Troy Melton’s first-pitch tone over the left-field fence, then the Twins’ bats continued to pressure the game’s tempo.

Detroit’s lead did not remain stable, but the Tigers did manage to press at key moments. Brooks Lee and former Tiger Kody Clemens delivered back-to-back home runs that powered Minnesota to the sixth lead change of the night in the fifth inning. With the game tilting toward another extended homer cycle, Detroit refused to let the Twins take control for long.

The first multi-run homer proved to be the deciding swing. After Kerry Carpenter followed Dingler’s lead-off double with a drive to right for a two-run home run in the fifth, Detroit created a margin that tightened the Twins’ response options. The game featured a rain delay of roughly one hour and 50 minutes earlier in the evening, and after the weather cleared, the conditions appeared to match the theme of the night, with balls carrying quickly and hitters repeatedly finding the gaps.

From there, the Tigers kept adding offense in a way that made each Minnesota response feel temporary. The back-end of the game emphasized that the contest was not merely a collection of solo shots, but a broader production surge from Detroit, built around Dingler’s night and additional scoring that kept the scoreboard tilted in Detroit’s favor. When the final outs arrived, Hinch got the version of a homerfest he had just warned managers about, only this time it came with a win.

For the Tigers, the importance goes beyond one result. A slugging win like this can reset momentum in the middle of a long season, especially when it comes against a division opponent and in a game that required both patience and execution amid constant lead changes. For Minnesota, the storyline is a reminder that power can manufacture volatility, but it still has to be paired with timely responses when the opponent turns a single swing into multi-run damage. The next test will be whether either team can translate this kind of rhythm into steadier production once the baseball’s flight is less cartoonish and the margin for error shrinks.