Detroit — The Tigers and Cubs played another round of rock-em, sock-em baseball Tuesday night. Oddly enough, the Tigers took two shots in the bottom of the eighth inning and ended up plating the insurance run, evening the series with an 8-6 win at Comerica Park.
In a one-run game, Cubs reliever Jose Cuas hit two batters, including Kerry Carpenter with the bases loaded. The Tigers threw the big punches earlier.
The early rounds featured a slug-out between Andy Ibanez and Chicago’s Dansby Swanson.
Ibanez, the Tigers’ second baseman, slugged a pair of home runs and knocked in four. Both came off hanging curveballs by Cubs’ starter and former Tigers lefty Drew Smyly.
It was the first multi-homer game of his career and he’d gone 47 plate appearances without hitting one (since July 23).
The first homer, a solo shot in the first inning, traveled 423 feet carrying beyond the visitors’ bullpen in left-center. The second one, a three-run blast in the fourth, flew 402 feet and cleared the Tigers’ bullpen in left.
Swanson, the Cubs’ shortstop, answered with a two-run home run in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth.
His homer was the first hit of the game allowed by Tigers’ starter Reese Olson. Olson had breezed through the Cubs order the first three innings, striking out six and getting a lot of feeble swings with his slider. He took a 3-0 lead into the fourth.
But after walking Ian Happ, he hung a first-pitch slider to Swanson and he clobbered it out to left.
Two batters later, he hung another one to former Tiger Jeimer Candelario – another two-run homer and the Cubs were up 4-3.
Olson’s night was done in the fifth after he walked Mike Tauchman and with two outs gave up a double to Cody Bellinger. Right-hander Brendan White was summoned to face Swanson.
More: Tigers mulling pros, cons of potential Sept. 1 call-ups of prospects Malloy and Keith
White left a 1-2 fastball up and over the plate and Swanson swatted it to right field for a two-run single.
Tigers 7, Cubs 6 and still four innings to go.
Things got eerily quiet after that, though.
That’s generally what happens when Tyler Holton and the back-end of the Tigers’ bullpen gets involved.
Holton got four straight outs, which is what he’s done all month. He’s on a streak of 12.1 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts.
The last out, though, he will have to share with Parker Meadows. The rookie centerfielder, playing in his second big-league game, robbed Bellinger of a leadoff double in the eighth with a stunning, full-layout on a dead sprint catch of a drive to right-center.
Meadows, who singled and walked and scored twice in first two at-bats, showed off his speed in the fifth inning, too. He drove a ball to the wall in center field and sped into third base with a triple. He was flying around first but somehow seemed to hit overdrive as he rounded third. He outran an excelled relay throw.
Jason Foley finished off the eighth inning, getting Christopher Morel to ground out after he’d allowed a two-out single to Seiya Suzuki and an opposite-field double to Candelario.
That left the ninth to Alex Lange, who earned his 19th save.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
X: @cmccosky