Detroit Tigers get big nights from Beau Brieske, Javier Báez in 5-1 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — Beau Brieske spun around and gazed toward center field.

The second pitch of his second MLB start, a changeup to Los Angeles Dodgers leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, soared over the center-field wall for a solo home run.

"I got to stop giving up leadoff homers," Brieske said.

The Detroit Tigers trailed from the get-go with Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw on the mound. But Brieske didn't allow another run in his five innings, and the Tigers grabbed the lead in the seventh on Javier Báez's RBI double en route to a 5-1 win Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

The Tigers (7-13) snapped a six-game losing streak.

"We're trying to win every day, and it's been a tough week," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "When you play a complete game and play clean and get good pitching and some timely hitting, all the things that lead to a win, it feels really good. We have a chance to win a series tomorrow against a really good team."

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Kershaw completed six innings and was replaced by right-handed reliever Evan Phillips for the seventh.

Phillips began his outing by hitting Jeimer Candelario in the foot. Pinch-hitter Harold Castro followed with a single through the hole and into right field. The Tigers had two runners on base, but Derek Hill struck out on three consecutive foul bunts and Robbie Grossman struck out looking on three pitches.

With two outs, Báez salvaged the inning.

He swung at a second-pitch, 96.2 mph fastball, shooting a double down the right-field line and into the corner. His 11th RBI in 11 games this season put the Tigers ahead 2-1, and the lead was extended.

"He pitched to me yesterday and didn't throw me one pitch (in the strike zone)," Báez said of Phillips, who struck out Báez on three sliders in Friday's sixth inning. "I was just making sure he got the ball closer to me, and then I just reacted to it. I was surprised it was inside the (foul) line."

Facing righty Brusdar Graterol, Miguel Cabrera worked a six-pitch walk with two outs in the seventh. Austin Meadows, a left-handed hitter, slapped a broken-bat single on the ground and into left field.

The Tigers took a 4-1 lead on Meadows' single.

Báez finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, as the team produced its five runs on 10 hits and three walks. Meadows went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Candelario tallied two hits and two runs scored.

"We're going to play hard," Báez said. "We got to make adjustments. We're going to lose games, but the way we lost these last couple games, we just weren't playing good baseball. That's something where we got to make adjustments and play better."

After Brieske went five innings, the Tigers picked up a scoreless sixth from right-hander Jacob Barnes.

In the seventh, righty Joe Jimenez put two runners on base with one out.

Righty Michael Fulmer replaced Jimenez to face Austin Barnes. He earned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play with his first-pitch slider.

"They love to swing," Fulmer said. "I'll take that all day."

The Tigers upped their margin to 5-1 in the eighth, as Tucker Barnhart — a defensive replacement at catcher in the seventh — ripped a line-drive RBI double to right field off righty Reyes Moronta.

Candelario, who reached on an infield single, scored from first base.

For the eighth and ninth innings, the Tigers received scoreless efforts from Fulmer and lefty closer Gregory Soto, respectively, with Fulmer totaling 1⅔ scoreless innings and eight pitches.

Fulmer has fired 22⅓ scoreless innings in a row, dating back to the 2021 season.

"Each guy is doing their job, and they're pulling for one another," Hinch said. "I think Joe was as excited as anybody when Michael comes in and gets a double play. They've got a little team within a team and a chemistry that's working. Really, they're thriving off of one another."

Go, go, Beau

The Dodgers and Tigers traded runs early in the game.

Brieske experienced déjà vu in the first on Betts' solo home run. His first-pitch fastball was fouled off before his second-pitch changeup was cranked to straightaway center field.

"That gets you right into the game," Brieske said. "You're like, 'Damn, I need to make a pitch right here.'"

In Brieske's MLB debut last Saturday in Detroit, he allowed a second-pitch homer to Colorado Rockies leadoff hitter Connor Joe on a slider.

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Brieske settled in after Betts' home run, though.

"I went out there and didn't have my best stuff, but I found a way to grind," Brieske said. "I trusted my catcher. I trusted my defense. I felt like I made pitches when I needed to. I was happy that I gave the team a chance to win."

After walking Freddie Freeman, the 24-year-old retired the next seven batters. He struck out Justin Turner (looking, 94.9 mph fastball) in the first inning and Cody Bellinger (swinging, 94.7 mph fastball) and Chris Taylor (looking, 94.8 mph fastball) in the second inning.

The Dodgers made Brieske work hard throughout his start, forcing him to throw 31 pitches in the fourth inning and fouling off 25 pitches total. But the right-hander got through five innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

He won a 14-pitch battle with Turner in the fourth.

"I didn't want to back down," Brieske said. "I didn't want to be too fine and end up walking him because I know he has a great eye. It got to a point where it felt like he was literally just trying to foul pitches off to see if I would get too cute and make a mistake."

In the fifth, Brieske faced Betts and Freeman for a third time. He retired them to finish a perfect inning that lasted eight pitches.

Barnes replaced Brieske for the sixth.

For his 90 pitches (55 strikes), Brieske used 53 fastballs (59%), 20 changeups (22%), 13 sliders (14%) and four curveballs (4%). He generated three swings and misses — zero with his secondary pitches — and 12 called strikes: six fastballs, three changeups, two sliders, one curveball.

His fastball averaged 94.1 mph.

"His composure is remarkable," Hinch said. "Tonight's environment was as tough as he's going to face. ... Coming back and keeping his composure, he had some really long at-bats and continued to hang in there. All really positive steps and a momentum boost for him and for us."

Finally, an extra-base hit

The Tigers posted their first run in the third inning against Kershaw, pitching the 382nd game of his 15-year MLB career. With two outs, Hill doubled on Kershaw's 2-0 slider to give his team an opportunity to score.

The extra-base hit from Hill was the Tigers' first multi-bagger since Wednesday's ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins. (In the seventh, the Tigers grabbed their first lead since Tuesday's eighth inning against the Twins.)

Grossman upped the momentum with a five-pitch walk. Báez, amid boos from Dodgers fans, clubbed a 1-2 slider into left field. His RBI single plated Hill to knot the score at one run apiece.

"He feeds off it," Grossman said. "It's exciting to see guys like that step up. It's a lot of fun. I couldn't be happier for him to have success, and I'm glad he's on our team."

Kershaw allowed one run on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings, throwing 57 of 85 pitches for strikes. The most memorable pitch occurred in the fourth inning.

The 34-year-old struck out Spencer Torkelson on three pitches, sending him down swinging at an 83.9 mph slider. The pitch gave Kershaw 2,697 career strikeouts, as he passed Don Sutton to become the Dodgers all-time strikeout leader.

"He's one of the best that's ever done it," Hinch said. "It's right in front of us. ... I love that the fans gave him the recognition he deserved. We clapped in our dugout. We saw history again tonight."

Torkelson finished 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

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.