The Detroit Tigers' first baseman blasted his first home run of the 2026 season, in the 25th game.
The powerful swing connecting with right-hander Chad Patrick's sinker that ran directly into Torkelson's bat path ignited the Tigers in a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, April 22, in the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park.
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The Tigers (13-12) and the Brewers (13-10) wrap up the series Thursday (1:10 p.m., Detroit SportsNet), with left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound.
In Wednesday's game, right-hander Casey Mize set the tone for the Tigers.
Mize limited the Brewers to one run on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts across six-plus innings, throwing 88 pitches.
He lowered his ERA to 2.51 ERA through five starts.
More notably, Mize has featured a 0.98 ERA in his past three starts with a swing-and-miss splitter.
The lone run off Mize came with two outs in the third inning, when Brice Turang walked, stole second base and scored on William Contreras' single.
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Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers catches a double play to end the the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter strikes out to end the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler strikes out with men on base to end the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle hits a double during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle hits a double during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers right fielder Jahmai Jones hits the ball deep to left field but Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins robbed him of a home run during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres reaches second base on a pitch in the dirt as Milwaukee Brewers second baseman David Hamilton catches the ball during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres is hit in the foot by a pitch during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle fields a ground ball and forces out Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers to end the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee fields a ground ball and throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee fields a ground ball and throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee fields a ground ball and throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers pitcher Keider Montero throws during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Detroit Tigers pitcher Keider Montero throws during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.1 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkMilwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers catches a double play to end the the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.1 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkMilwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers catches a double play to end the the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.2 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter strikes out to end the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.3 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler strikes out with men on base to end the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.4 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle hits a double during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.5 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle hits a double during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.6 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers right fielder Jahmai Jones hits the ball deep to left field but Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins robbed him of a home run during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.7 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres reaches second base on a pitch in the dirt as Milwaukee Brewers second baseman David Hamilton catches the ball during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.8 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres is hit in the foot by a pitch during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.9 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle fields a ground ball and forces out Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers to end the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.10 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee fields a ground ball and throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.11 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee fields a ground ball and throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.12 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee fields a ground ball and throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.13 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers pitcher Keider Montero throws during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.14 / 14Detroit Tigers host tough Milwaukee Brewers squad at Comerica ParkDetroit Tigers pitcher Keider Montero throws during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Aside from that, Mize shut down the Brewers despite runners on base in five of his seven innings.
Mize departed after a leadoff walk to Garrett Mitchell in the seventh. Right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan cleaned up by retiring the next three batters in a row.
The Tigers supported Mize with two runs in the fourth inning and two runs in the fifth inning.
In the fourth, Torkelson launched a two-run home run (after Riley Greene's double) for a 2-1 lead.
Patrick threw a fourth-pitch 95.1 mph sinker to Torkelson.
The pitch ran middle-in and Torkelson didn't miss it, driving the ball 400 feet to left-center field with a 106.4 mph exit velocity.
In the fifth, the Tigers extended their lead to 4-1 with Kevin McGonigle's RBI double and Colt Keith's RBI single, both against Patrick.
The inning began with a leadoff single from Javier Báez.
But the big moment belonged to McGonigle, who battled for 10 pitches – including five foul balls, with four of them in a row – before hitting a down-and-in 93.1 mph fastball that ricocheted off the wall in right field for an RBI double.
To complete the play, Báez scored from first base with a head-first slide.