CLEVELAND — Andy Ibáñez, known for crushing left-handed pitchers, had a prime spot for success Tuesday night: Hitting leadoff for the Detroit Tigers against Cleveland Guardians left-hander Logan Allen. He took advantage of the opportunity by hitting two home runs in the first two innings.

The Tigers and Guardians combined for 18 runs on 23 hits in Tuesday’s game, but the Tigers scored the go-ahead run in the fourth inning and then piled on in the later innings for an 11-7 win in the second of three games at Progressive Field.

Ibáñez, who drove in four of the 11 runs, finished 4-for-4 with two home runs, one single, one double and one walk. It marked the first four-hit game of his career.

The Tigers (19-17) snapped a four-game losing streak behind Ibáñez’s two homers, rookie Ryan Vilade’s big hits and seven scoreless innings from four relievers out of the bullpen.

A single to remember from Vilade — promoted before Tuesday’s game as the replacement for demoted center fielder Parker Meadows — drove in two runs for a 7-7 tie in the third inning. He hit a two-strike changeup below the strike zone for a single to left field against right-handed reliever Pedro Avila.

A single from Riley Greene and a double from Spencer Torkelson set the table for the first hit of Vilade’s career.

Vilade waited more than two years for that hit. The 25-year-old hadn’t returned to the big leagues — until Tuesday’s game — since going 0-for-6 with one walk across seven plate appearances in three games for the Colorado Rockies in September 2021.

The Tigers took an 8-7 lead when Matt Vierling grounded into a double play after singles from Ibáñez and Wenceel Pérez.

Vilade drove in another run in the seventh inning for a 9-7 lead. The newcomer drove in Jake Rogers, who doubled as part of his own two-hit performance, with a ground-ball single to left field off left-handed reliever Tim Herrin’s fastball.

A two-run single from Matt Vierling extended the Tigers’ lead to 11-7 with two outs in the eighth.

The Tigers received scoreless performances from four relievers: left-hander Tyler Holton (three innings), right-hander Alex Faedo (two innings), left-hander Andrew Chafin (one inning) and right-hander Alex Lange (one inning).

Holton saved the Tigers’ pitching staff after a rough two-inning start from right-hander Kenta Maeda.

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Andy’s dandy

Ibáñez flexed his muscles from the third pitch of the game.

The 31-year-old smacked a middle-middle fastball from Allen, a left-hander, with a 102.3 mph exit velocity for a 388-foot home run to left field. It was his first homer of the season, and his first of two homers Tuesday.

The Tigers hit a leadoff homer in back-to-back games for the first time since Ramón Santiago did it on June 3-4, 2022; it was also the third leadoff dinger in four games, marking the first such run in franchise history. (The other leadoff homers were hit by Greene on Saturday in New York and Monday in Cleveland.)

Ibáñez’s next homer occurred in the next inning.

Ibáñez put the Tigers in front, 5-2, with a three-run shot in the second inning. This time, Ibáñez pushed Allen’s middle-away fastball with a 98.2 mph exit velocity for a 367-foot homer to right.

In addition to Ibáñez’s four RBIs, Javier Báez produced an RBI single as part of the Tigers’ five runs in the first two innings. Allen struggled for the Guardians, allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts across 2⅓ innings.

Ibáñez added a single in the fourth inning, a walk in the sixth and a double in the eighth.

Maeda mashed

Maeda allowed seven runs on five hits and three walks with one strikeouts across two innings, throwing 59 pitches. The 36-year-old, who signed a two-year free-agent contract over the winter, has a 6.75 ERA across 30⅔ innings in seven starts.

He gave up two runs in the first inning, but the real damage occurred in the second inning. Estevan Florial delivered an RBI double, José Ramírez ripped a two-run double, and Josh Naylor obliterated Maeda’s 90.9 mph fastball for a two-run home run to right field.

The homer from Naylor put the Guardians ahead, 7-5. Naylor, who has nine home runs in 34 games this season, hit the ball 407 feet with a 106.2 mph exit velocity.

Maeda generated five whiffs on 25 swings — a 20% whiff rate — with four splitters and one slider. His fastball averaged 90.2 mph but didn’t produce any swings and misses.

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With the economy a key issue in the ongoing presidential campaigns and Michigan an electoral swing state, the major party contenders and their surrogates are repeatedly touting their policy initiatives to voters in the Wolverine state.

That includes Vice President Kamala Harris, who is on what the White House calls an “Economic Opportunity Tour” of states nationwide.

Harris told a packed house at Detroit’s Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History that the Biden Administration is increasing its investment in one of its signature goals, increasing domestic electric vehicle supply chains.

Critics like former President Donald Trump regularly complain the push for electric vehicles will cost U.S. autoworkers their jobs and force consumers into buying less-expensive EVs made by Chinese manufacturers.

But Harris says the Biden Administration is providing more than $100 million specifically to help re-tool U.S. factories and train workers in electric vehicle technology.

“This investment will help to keep our auto supply chains here in America,” Harris said. “(That) strengthens America’s economy overall and (will) keep those jobs here in Detroit.”

Trump warns of decaying economy, vows to “save” auto industry at Michigan rally »

Energy Secretary and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm added that the Biden Administration has targeted infrastructure funds to help ensure there are enough charging stations for those driving an electric vehicle.

The result, Granholm predicted, will be a supply chain that delivers profits for small business owners in Michigan and avoids any reliance on China.

“We’re pulling that back. In Michigan you’re seeing all of these battery suppliers creating all of the components of that battery pack being made inside of Michigan. It’s super exciting. And that means more good-paying jobs,” Granholm said.

President Biden talks electric vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show »

Harris also used her visit to the majority-African American city of Detroit to try and firm-up support in the Black community.

The Vice President told the crowd at the Wright Museum that the current White House has the backs of Black voters. She said the Biden Administration is aiding African Americans in everything from building wealth and good credit scores to forgiving student loan debt.

“Since taking office we have seen record Black small business growth,” Harris said. “We have created more than 2.5 million new jobs for black workers. And since 2019, Black wealth is up 60 percent. President Biden and I are clear: These are not only our accomplishments, they are yours.”

While Detroit remains a Democratic bastion, Michigan is still a political battleground, part of the so-called “Blue Wall” of midwestern states Biden likely needs to win to retain the White House.

Michigan is commanding attention from both major presidential contenders. Trump held a rally at an airport hangar in Saginaw County last week and is scheduled to headline a conservative organization’s upcoming convention in Detroit. Biden is set to address the Detroit branch of the NAACP on May 19.

DETROIT – An umpire blew three straight calls on Monday night to rob the Detroit Tigers of a rally in their loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

The moment in question came during the top of the fifth inning. The Tigers had runners at the corners with one out, and Mark Canha was at the plate in a 1-1 game.

Canha took the first pitch low, the second pitch inside, the third pitch high, the fourth pitch outside, and the fifth pitch low. Unfortunately, the second and fifth pitches were both called strikes despite being well out of the zone.

Canha fouled off the sixth pitch and then took the seventh way high, and was called out on strikes anyway.

That’s right: six pitches out of the zone, and three were called strikes by home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus. It was about as disastrous a sequence as you’ll ever see during an MLB game.

Instead of having the bases loaded with one out, the Tigers had two outs and runners at first and third. Matt Vierling lined the next pitch 346 feet into left field for what would have been the go-ahead sacrifice fly, but it was caught for the third out.

Detroit ultimately lost the game 2-1.

Sure, the Tigers could have taken matters into their own hands with a better offensive performance. Riley Greene hit a homer on the first pitch of the game, and then the Tigers were shut out for the rest of the night.

But the last thing a struggling offense needs is that type of terrible strike zone, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

With a win, the Tigers would have pulled within three games of Cleveland in the AL Central. Now, they’re a full five games back after dropping their fourth straight.

It’s the type of luck the Tigers have become accustomed to at Progressive Field. And this was only Game 1.