Wenceel Pérez, Javier Báez bring big bats in Detroit Tigers' 7-3 win over Pirates
Detroit Tigers outfielder Wenceel Pérez hit nine home runs in 112 games last season. This year, he already has five homers in just 18 games.
Not only did the 25-year-old hit his fifth homer in a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, June 17, at Comerica Park, but he also drove in three of the Tigers' seven runs.
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The Tigers (47-27) received a boost from Pérez in the second and sixth innings, when he delivered a two-run home run and a run-scoring triple, respectively.
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Detroit Tigers outfielder Wenceel Pérez (46) hits an RBI triple in the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
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In the second, Pérez flipped the scoreboard — from down 1-0 to up 2-1 — when he turned on left-hander Bailey Falter's inside fastball for a two-run home run. Before that, Spencer Torkelson set the table with a leadoff double.
Pérez, a switch-hitter, has two homers against left-handed pitchers and three homers against right-handers this season. He was significantly more productive against righties in 2024, but he has produced against both in 2025.
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It's a positive development in a small sample.
In the sixth, Pérez gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead with an RBI triple off right-handed reliever Carmen Mlodzinski to the deepest part of the ballpark in right-center field, scoring Riley Greene — who had a leadoff single — from first base.
The Tigers were in control.
They scored five of their seven runs in the final five innings, including the go-ahead run from Pérez in the sixth. Riley Greene extended the Tigers' lead to 7-3 with a two-run home run in the seventh inning, which capped the scoring.
It was Greene's 15th homer in 72 games.
Casey Mize starts
Right-hander Casey Mize allowed three runs (two earned runs) on five hits and zero walks with four strikeouts across six innings, throwing 92 pitches.
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The Pirates scored all three runs in the first three innings.
After that, Mize shut down the Pirates in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize (12) pitches in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
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The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, when a throwing error by shortstop Javier Báez turned what could've been an inning-ending double play into runners on the corners with one out. The next batter, Adam Frazier, grounded out, but it was enough to score the runner from third for an unearned run.
Mize then surrendered a pair of earned runs: Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff single, followed by Andrew McCutchen's double and Alexander Canario's two-run single — both occurring with one out in the third inning.
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The Pirates grabbed a 3-2 lead on Canario's two-run single.
Mize retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, working around a two-out single from Oneil Cruz in the fifth inning. He wasn't at his best, but he battled his way through six innings and improved as his start went along.
He has a 2.96 ERA in 12 starts.
Javier Báez's big day
Detroit Tigers outfielder Javier Báez (28) hits a single in the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
On Tuesday, Báez reached 10 years of MLB service time, a milestone every player sets as a goal but fewer than 10% achieve. The 32-year-old made his MLB debut on Aug. 5, 2014. He has played 1,284 games throughout his 12-year career.
Báez celebrated in more ways than one.
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He received a bottle of champagne from his teammates in the hitters meeting before the game, then showed some pop with two home runs — a pair of solo homers in the fifth and seventh innings.
His first homer tied the game, 3-3. His second homer extended the lead, 5-3. In the fifth, he hit a hanging curveball off Falter for a 407-foot homer. In the seventh, he hit a middle-down sweeper from Mlodzinski for a 410-foot homer.
Báez has nine home runs in 62 games in 2025.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
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Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!' by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Javier Baez homers twice in Detroit Tigers' 7-3 win over Pirates
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