The Detroit Tigers are on the verge of a sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays following a 7-3 win on Saturday.

Yusei Kikuchi got the ball for Toronto in what&#8217;s expected to be one of his final starts with the club before they move him to a contending team before the July 30 trade deadline. The left-hander went five innings and allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight batters.
The start was going very well for Kikuchi until he faced Detroit&#8217;s lineup for the third time. He struck the first two batters out in the fifth inning but nine-hole hitter Ryan Vilade kept things going with a two-out single. Leadoff hitter Andy Ibanez came up next and put the Tigers up 1-0 with a double down the third base line.
After getting through the fifth inning without any more damage, Kikuchi lost his command in the sixth. He allowed a leadoff single to Matt Vierling, walked Mark Canha, and hit Wenceel Perez to load the bases. Trevor Richards came into the game in relief and promptly served up a meatball that Jake Rogers slammed over the left field wall to make the score 5-0.
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Jake Rogers breaks the game open with a grand slam!
(MLB x <a href="https://twitter.com/DairyQueen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DairyQueen</a>) <a href="https://t.co/KPJCWoDZHH">pic.twitter.com/KPJCWoDZHH</a>
&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1814764503843660175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Richards allowed one more run to cross the plate before getting pulled in favour of Brendon Little, who got the final two outs of the sixth frame. The bullpen locked things down the rest of the way. Erik Swanson pitched a clean inning in his return to the Major Leagues, Ryan Burr threw a scoreless eighth, and Yimi Garcia struck out the side in the ninth.
All of Toronto&#8217;s offence came in the bottom half of the sixth after the Tigers had pulled ahead with a 7-0 lead. Kevin Kiermaier hit a double, George Springer plated him with a single, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made the score 7-3 with a two-run bomb.
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Three home runs in three games for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 
This one goes 418 feet to centre. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://t.co/I0NW6quix1">pic.twitter.com/I0NW6quix1</a>
&mdash; Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1814768961885442360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Blue Jays will look to avoid being swept by the Tigers on Sunday. They&#8217;ll send Kevin Gausman to the mound while Keider Montero will go for Detroit.

The Detroit Tigers are on the verge of a sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays following a 7-3 win on Saturday.



Yusei Kikuchi got the ball for Toronto in what's expected to be one of his final starts with the club before they move him to a contending team before the July 30 trade deadline. The left-hander went five innings and allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight batters.

The start was going very well for Kikuchi until he faced Detroit's lineup for the third time. He struck the first two batters out in the fifth inning but nine-hole hitter Ryan Vilade kept things going with a two-out single. Leadoff hitter Andy Ibanez came up next and put the Tigers up 1-0 with a double down the third base line.

After getting through the fifth inning without any more damage, Kikuchi lost his command in the sixth. He allowed a leadoff single to Matt Vierling, walked Mark Canha, and hit Wenceel Perez to load the bases. Trevor Richards came into the game in relief and promptly served up a meatball that Jake Rogers slammed over the left field wall to make the score 5-0.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1814764503843660175

Richards allowed one more run to cross the plate before getting pulled in favour of Brendon Little, who got the final two outs of the sixth frame. The bullpen locked things down the rest of the way. Erik Swanson pitched a clean inning in his return to the Major Leagues, Ryan Burr threw a scoreless eighth, and Yimi Garcia struck out the side in the ninth.

All of Toronto's offence came in the bottom half of the sixth after the Tigers had pulled ahead with a 7-0 lead. Kevin Kiermaier hit a double, George Springer plated him with a single, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made the score 7-3 with a two-run bomb.

https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1814768961885442360

The Blue Jays will look to avoid being swept by the Tigers on Sunday. They'll send Kevin Gausman to the mound while Keider Montero will go for Detroit.

Instant Reaction: Six-run sixth inning leads Tigers to win over Blue Jays

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