The Detroit Tigers win their third straight series after an offensive explosion
In his 63rd game, Detroit Tigers third baseman Colt Keith finally got on the home run board.
And the rest of his teammates joined the hit parade as the Tigers set a season high in home runs.
With his first home run of the season, Keith’s two-run home run in the sixth inning helped power an 11-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park on Thursday, June 11. The win clinched the Tigers’ streak, the third of the month as Detroit improved to 7-2 in June and 29-40 overall.
GREAT FLIGHT: Colt Keith finally hit his first homer of the year, against the Tigers
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The Tigers also got a big swing from first baseman Spencer Torkelson, whose two-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead and Torkelson’s 10th home run of the year. He is the second Tigers hitter to hit 10 home runs this season, behind Dillon Dingler’s 16 home runs.
Sophomore pitcher Gleyber Torres added an opposite-field, solo home run in the fifth inning, and left fielder Riley Greene hit a solo home run in the seventh to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead.
The home runs kept coming after Minnesota inserted catcher Alex Jackson as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning, with center fielder Zach McKinstry hitting his second home run of the season and Wenceel Pérez hitting his seventh of the season later in the inning.
The Tigers set a season high for home runs in one game with six, breaking the previous high of five in their 10-9 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on June 1. It was Detroit’s fifth game this season with at least four home runs as a team, three of those games coming in June.
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Starter Keider Montero had another successful outing, allowing four hits and no runs over 6⅓ innings. It was the third time this season that he pitched into the seventh inning, helping the Tigers to a win on Thursday.
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On the plate
Detroit Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson hugs Colt Keith #33 after he hit a two-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at Comerica Park on June 11, 2026 in Detroit.
Entering the game, Keith was one of three players in MLB with at least 190 plate appearances and no home runs in a season. (The others: Milwaukee’s Luis Rengifo and Washington’s Nasim Nuñez.) But with double-digit home runs in Keith’s past two seasons, his first-half outbursts have been a big part of Detroit’s offensive woes.
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And with both Keith and the Tigers hitting hard on Thursday, Detroit’s bats remain hot amid their June hot streak.
Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle led off the bottom of the first inning with a double up the left field wall, bouncing over the glove of left fielder Trevor Larnach and the pads of the wall before returning to the field. Torres’ single to right field advanced McGonigle to third and Greene’s sacrifice fly to center scored McGonigle to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Tigers designated hitter Dillon Dingler didn’t strike out Thursday, but he continued to put together a one-out, line drive double in the fourth inning that registered 104.8 mph off the bat. His first inning single was hit harder, according to Statcast, at 104.9 mph, as Dingler has registered 10 balls hit this season with at least 105 mph exit velocity. Finished 3 out of 5.
Two batters later, Keith drove him in with a single, and Torkelson quickly followed that up with his leadoff home run.
Keith’s sixth inning home run was not a game-breaker, as the Tigers had already taken a 5-0 lead before it happened. But if it renews the biggest source of power in Detroit’s lineup, it could end up being a big hit on a day full of big swings.
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On the mound
Detroit Tigers pitcher Keider Montero pitches in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park on June 11, 2026 in Detroit.
Montero pitched well through the first four innings, allowing no runs on three soft hits while striking out four and walking no one.
He walked with his first hit in the fifth inning, a leadoff pass to catcher Victor Caratini, but that was the only baserunner he allowed in the inning as a drive to left center from right fielder Austin Martin was scored by McKinstry.
Montero’s day continued with a 1-2-3 sixth inning, capped off when designated hitter Josh Bell led off a spin play and a laser-beam throw from catcher Jake Rogers. Bell was initially ruled safe on the play, but the call was overturned after the Tigers challenged, with the fielders leaving the field before the umpires officially overturned the call.
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Monero went 10 of his 20 outs on the fly ball, pitching the season the Tigers have seen in right field. Montero has hit 52.5% of the team’s fly ball percentage entering Thursday’s game as he has significantly increased his fly ball percentage while lowering his home run rate, from 1.59 per nine innings in 2025 to 1.09 per nine innings in 2026 (MLB average is 1.12).
Montero drew the cheers of the Comerica Park crowd as he exited the game, his third start of the season with at least six scoreless innings.
Detroit Tigers’ Gleyber Torres hits a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Next: On the road again
The Tigers head south to face the defending American League Central champion Cleveland Guardians in a three-game series at Progressive Field in Cleveland beginning Friday (7:10 pm, Detroit SportsNet).
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Tigers righty Jack Flaherty (1-7, 5.31 ERA) will compete against righty Tanner Bibee (1-7 4.09 ERA).
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article first appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers defeat Minnesota Twins in home showdown.
