WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jeimer Candelario, the longtime third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, stuck his arm in the air and pointed toward the seats in right-center field after rounding first base.
His solo home run sparked a rally for the Washington Nationals.
The Tigers lost, 5-2, to the Nationals on Saturday in the second of three games in the series. Candelario, who was non-tendered by the Tigers in the offseason, belted his sixth homer with his new team as right-hander Alex Faedo allowed three runs over the final two innings of his third start.
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Despite six hits, the Tigers (20-23) didn’t advance a runner into scoring position until the seventh inning. Miguel Cabrera drew a leadoff walk against right-handed reliever Carl Edwards Jr., and pinch-runner Akil Baddoo advanced to second base on a passed ball.
Baddoo reached third on Zach McKinstry’s flyout but was stranded when Matt Vierling grounded out to Candelario there.
Nationals relievers Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan retired six batters in a row in the eighth and ninth innings. Candelario, in his second game against the Tigers, finished 2-for-4 with two extra-base hits and two RBIs.
Candy’s sweet swing
After Lane Thomas’ leadoff single in the first inning, Faedo retired the next 11 batters he faced before a two-out matchup with Candelario, who spoiled his scoreless outing. Candelario drilled a changeup over the wall in right-center field.
The ball traveled 390 feet.
It wouldn’t have been a home run at Comerica Park, the ballpark Candelario called home from 2017-22. Faedo has given up five home runs in three starts this season, after allowing just seven in 12 starts last season.
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In the fifth inning, the Nationals took the lead, 3-2, on hits from Ildemaro Vargas (single off a fastball), CJ Abrams (double off a fastball) and Lane Thomas (single off a slider) against Faedo.
Thomas drilled a poorly executed slider for a line-drive single into left field.
Faedo allowed three runs on five hits and zero walks with four strikeouts, throwing 53 of 72 pitches for strikes. He generated four whiffs, all with sliders. His fastball averaged 94 mph and recorded 10 of his 13 called strikes.
The Nationals increased their margin to 4-2 with back-to-back hits off left-handed reliever Tyler Holton from Corey Dickerson and Keibert Ruiz with two outs in the sixth inning. Another runner scored in the eighth inning, making it 5-2, on Candelario’s double off righty Will Vest.
Early power
Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin, who surpassed 1,500 career strikeouts in Saturday’s start, tossed six innings of two-run ball with six hits, zero walks and three strikeouts. Batters reached safely in each of the first six innings, but the Tigers only capitalized once against the veteran.
Corbin dropped his ERA to 4.47 this season.
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Spencer Torkelson was responsible for the limited damage against Corbin with a two-run home run in the first inning. Vierling jumped a first-pitch fastball for a leadoff single, and with two outs, Torkelson belted a second-pitch fastball for his fourth homer of the season.
The homer was hit with a 106.1 mph exit velocity and traveled 401 feet to left-center field.
Torkelson finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.