Detroit Tigers snake bitten in 11-7 loss to Arizona Diamondbacks, denying series sweep

Beau Brieske grew up watching baseball games at Chase Field. Brieske, a native of Chandler, Arizona, returned to his hometown ballpark this weekend with the Detroit Tigers.

In Sunday's series finale, the 24-year-old stood on the mound and pitched in front of his family and friends. The Diamondbacks crushed Brieske for five runs. He didn't escape the fourth inning.

Offense wasn't at a premium for either team.

The Tigers allowed five runs in the sixth inning — all against right-handed reliever Will Vest — which led to an 11-7 loss after back-to-back wins in the three-game series.

Entering the sixth, the Tigers (28-44) were in position to sweep the series. The offense had been rolling, and despite poor pitching, the game was tied, 6-6. The Tigers, by the way, finished with eight hits and six walks with 13 strikeouts.

Vest, who recorded all three outs in the sixth, faced eight batters and threw 30 pitches.

The Diamondbacks took the lead  on an RBI single from Pavin Smith, then increased the lead to 8-6 on a sacrifice fly from Buddy Kennedy.

Vest failed to escape with minimal damage.

Daulton Varsho received a changeup down the middle and blasted it 436 feet  for a three-run home run to right-center field, giving the Diamondbacks an 11-6 lead.

Vest gave up five runs on four hits and one walk in his inning.

The Tigers scored one run in the top of the ninth inning, when Greene grounded into a force out to score Kody Clemens.

Trading runs

The Tigers opened the high-scoring clash with two runs in the second inning.

Spencer Torkelson advanced into scoring position by ripping a double to the left-center gap off Diamondbacks left-hander Dallas Keuchel. He wasted no time, either, pounding a first-pitch sinker.

It marked Torkelson's third extra-base hit in June.

Eric Haase followed with a single, and Willi Castro cleared the bases with a triple — his second this season — for a 2-0 advantage. He clobbered the ball with a 102.4 mph exit velocity.

The Diamondbacks answered with two runs in the bottom of the third inning, as Brieske needed 30 pitches to record three outs. Carson Kelly hit a solo home run, and Christian Walker — with the bases loaded — tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

The sacrifice fly could've been a bases-clearing hit. Rookie center fielder Riley Greene hauled in the ball with a diving catch in the left-center gap to take away extra bases.

With two outs in the fourth, the Tigers regained the lead, 3-2, with three consecutive base runners against Keuchel: Jonathan Schoop (single), Harold Castro (walk) and Robbie Grossman (RBI single).

Trading more runs

The Diamondbacks, again, countered.

A two-out RBI single from Jose Rojas knotted the score, 3-3, in the bottom of the fourth inning. The single chased Brieske from his 12th MLB start, but he was still responsible for the runners on base.

Facing righty reliever Alex Lange, Pavin Smith drove a two-RBI single to put the Diamondbacks ahead 5-3. Brieske, also charged for those two runs, allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 3⅔ innings.

Brieske threw 44 of 75 pitches for strikes.

The Diamondbacks posted a three-spot in the bottom of the fourth, but the Tigers got those runs back in the top of the fifth with a three-run home run from Eric Haase, his fourth homer in 2022.

Keuchel exited after walking Riley Greene with one out in the fifth, and right-handed reliever J.B. Wendelken began his outing by walking Spencer Torkelson. Haase made him pay by hammering a first-pitch slider into the left-field seats.

Haase's homer made it 6-5 Tigers.

The Diamondbacks tied things up, 6-6, in the bottom of the fifth on Kelly's sacrifice fly off righty reliever Wily Peralta.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers snake bitten in 11-7 loss to D'backs, denying sweep