Tigers club 4 homers to top Pirates in series opener

Like his fellow Pittsburgh Pirates starters, Bailey Falter has had a front-row seat to the club’s offensive woes this season.

Yet, unlike any other member of the rotation, he boasts a winning record, having led the Pirates with five victories entering Tuesday’s series opener in Detroit.

The Tigers entered with the best record in baseball, so Falter faced a tall task at Comerica Park.

After a no-decision in a 7-3 defeat, he’ll have to wait for a shot at his next win.

Falter (3.49 ERA) lasted five innings, allowing three earned runs, all of which came on a pair of Detroit home runs, and five hits while walking one with four strikeouts.

But his immediate relief, Carmen Mlodzinski (1-5, 5.98 ERA), was roughed up for four runs on another two homers over two innings, absorbing the loss.

Offensively, the Pirates managed five hits and failed to do any damage after the third inning.

“We put some runs on the board early and just couldn’t get anything going after that,” manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show.

“I didn’t get to see all of (Mlodzinski’s) pitches, but it looked like he caught the heart of the plate on some of them. That’s going to happen sometimes, especially with a team like this. They’ve got a good lineup.”

The Pirates (29-45) took a 1-0 lead on the Tigers and starter Casey Mize in the second, when Adam Frazier’s RBI groundout allowed Spencer Horwitz, who led off with a single, to score from third.

Horwitz was able to move up two bags because of a throwing error by shortstop Javier Baez, who misfired a routine double-play ball off the bat of Joey Bart.

That advantage was short-lived as Wenceel Perez hit a two-run homer off Falter in the bottom of the second to put Detroit up 2-1, scoring Spencer Torkelson, who doubled.

Falter labored to get out of the frame, allowing two more hits, but struck out Gleyber Torres with the bases loaded to avert any additional damage.

In the third, the Pirates took the lead right back, going up 3-2 courtesy of a two-run base hit by Alexander Canario.

Canario had entered the game in the bottom of the second in place of Bryan Reynolds, who was removed because his wife went into labor.

He plated Isiah Kiner-Falefa (single) and Andrew McCutchen, who doubled to advance Kiner-Falefa to third.

Baez redeemed himself in the fifth, blasting a solo home run off Falter to lead off and tie the score 3-3.

Falter’s evening was over the fifth and 78 pitches, with Mlodzinski taking over in the sixth.

“Overall, it was okay,” Falter said of his outing. “About three pitches I’d like back out of the 78. The homer to (Perez) — good pitch, but not good enough for an 0-2 (count). And then obviously, the (home run) to (Baez) just a mis-executed curveball. Can’t be leaving stuff over the middle to guys who have been around for that long.”

Unfortunately for the Pirates, Mlodzinski quickly surrendered the lead, as an RBI triple by Perez scored Riley Greene, who got aboard with a leadoff single.

Mlodzinski stayed on in the seventh, but his rough outing continued with two more homers and Detroit taking its four-run lead.

First, Baez struck again, launching his second solo home run of the game to left center field to hand Detroit a 5-3 advantage.

Then, after Mlodzinski plunked Kerry Carpenter, Greene hit a two-run shot to stretch the Tigers’ lead to four.

Mize (7-2) lasted six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and zero walks.

After Mlodzinski, Chase Shugart pitched a scoreless eighth.

In the ninth, Brenan Hanifee retired the Pirates in order to close things out.