Montero shuts down Mariners in Tigers’ 4-2 win

SEATTLE — Parker Meadows homered and drove in two runs, Keider Montero pitched six strong innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Montero (2-5), making the eighth start of his career, allowed just four hits, including Luke Raley’s solo homer in the fifth.

Meadows put the Tigers on the board first with an RBI single off Mariners starter Luis Castillo in the fourth, and Detroit plated two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Colt Keith and Wenceel Pérez to make it 3-0.

Meadows made it 4-1 with a 415-foot blast off Trent Thornton in the eighth. Meadows has two hits in each of his two games since coming off a nearly month-long injured list stint on Saturday, with a triple and a home run.

“I think the biggest part of that, obviously, he’s getting better pitches to hit,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “His bats have been really good, his outs have been competitive, his damage is noteworthy tonight, … his rehab was good and his reintroduction back to this level has been very fun to see.”

Raley pulled Seattle within two runs with his homer in the fifth inning, and Seattle scored again when Jorge Polanco hit a flyball that fell between Pérez and Meadows in right-center field for an RBI single in the ninth.

Castillo (9-11) went six innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits, with nine strikeouts.

Montero struck out a career-high eight and walked one.

“One of the things I’ve been doing is to calm myself down, put the emotions down on the mound,” Montero said through translator Carlos Guillén. “I’m not very fond of the hitters taking the rhythm towards me, because I like to impose my rhythm on the mound. It’s one of the things, I’ve been working on it, and we’re getting progress on it. I’m very proud of what we’re doing so far.”

Beau Brieske got two outs in the ninth, and Tyler Holton struck out Mitch Garver for the final out and his fourth save.

Both teams struck out 14 times.

Cade Marlowe pinch-hit for DH Justin Turner in the ninth. Turner was hit on the left hand by a 95 mph fastball from Will Vest in the seventh, but initially stayed in the game.

After the game, manager Scott Servais said that X-rays were negative, and Turner is day-to-day.

“You’re always nervous something is going to be fractured,” Servais said. “Hopefully, we dodged a bullet there and we’ll see if he’s going to be available tomorrow or not. We’ll just have to wait and see when we get here to the ballpark.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Casey Mize (hamstring) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, according to Hinch … OF Kerry Carpenter (lumbar spine stress fracture) began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday … OF Riley Greene (hamstring) is with the team and doing defensive drills, batting practice, and a running progression as he works back from a hamstring strain he suffered in late July.

Mariners: OF Julio Rodriguez (ankle sprain) took batting practice on Tuesday and is progressing in his rehab, but Servais said there is still no timetable for Rodriguez’ return … OF Dominic Canzone (adductor strain) played Tuesday in Triple-A Tacoma and could return from his minor league rehab assignment by the end of the Mariners’ current homestand.

UP NEXT

Detroit lefty and Seattle University grad Tarik Skubal (12-4, 2.57 ERA) will pitch Wednesday against Mariners right-hander George Kirby (8-7, 3.04 ERA).

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TIGERS 4, MARINERS 2

E—Moore (5). LOB_Detroit 6, Seattle 4. 2B—Dingler (2). HR—Meadows (4), off Thornton; Raley (13), off Montero. RBI—Meadows 2 (8), Keith (42), Pérez (31), Raley (35), Polanco (29). CS—Moore (4), Pérez (4).

Runners left in scoring position—Detroit 3 (Malloy, McKinstry, Pérez); Seattle 1 (Raleigh). RISP—Detroit 3 for 9; Seattle 1 for 3.

Runners moved up—Malloy, Madris, Arozarena. GIDP—Arozarena.

DP—Detroit 2 (Báez, Keith, Madris; Báez, Keith, Madris).

Inherited runners-scored—Holton 1-0. HBP—Montero (Robles), Vest (Turner).

Umpires—Home, Brian O’Nora; First, Shane Livensparger; Second, Chris Conroy; Third, Alex MacKay.

T—2:30. A—27,119 (47,929).