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Tigers Baseball Report

Tigers Slugger Ties Home Run Franchise Record in Incredible Turnaround

It has been quite the week for a Detroit Tigers star. He went from one of the worst on the team in production to sharing a franchise record.
Maddy Dickens|
A general view of the Detroit Tigers script logo on the building at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
A general view of the Detroit Tigers script logo on the building at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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Detroit Tigers

Insiders and couch critics everywhere had plenty to say about the struggles that Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson was experiencing to start the year, but it feels safe to say that Torkelson has silenced everyone.

Torkelson went from hitting well under .200 on the year to now batting nearly .400 in his last seven games. As impressive as that is, it isn't nearly as jaw-dropping as the 1.174 slugging percentage that is, in part, due to his last five games.

At Comerica Park on April 22, Torkelson hit his first long ball of the year. The following day, he hit another. That streak has yet to stop as he hit a trio of homers throughout the series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Five games in a row with a home run in each. Torkelson has now joined five other players in the franchise who have homered in five consecutive games, and the first in nearly two decades, with a chance to take the edge over his fellow comrades in his next game.

  • Marcus Thames (2008)
  • Willie Horton (1969)
  • Vic Wertz (1950)
  • Hank Greenberg (1940)
  • Rudy York (1937)

While individual accolades aren't what the game is about, and are not on the forefront of Torkelson's mind, it sure would be sweet to see him hit add another to his stat sheet in the series opener against the Atlanta Braves.

Torkelson to Start 2026 Compared to Torkelson Now

Spencer Torkelson holds a baseball bat in a white Tigers jerse
Spencer Torkelson (20) bats against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, April 23, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was quite hard to watch Torkelson step up to the plate during the first few weeks of the season as things went downhill rather quickly as Tork went 3-for-20 in March with more strikeouts (8) than bases (4).

Something lit a fire under Torkelson in the last week, because it wasn't a gradual increase by any means, as it wasn't until the Brewers series that he finally found his swing and decided to make up for lost time.

Since Game 1 of the series against Milwaukee, Torkelson has made contact each and every time. Then, the home run streak started. Now, the Tigers have won three of those five games where he has gone the distance.

When Torkelson is doing well, so are the Tigers. The team is back above .500 as the offense is starting to fire on all cylinders.

The Tigers now have the day off before taking on one of the best teams in baseball. It won't be an easy win, but with Torkelson hitting like this, it dang sure feels like Detroit can steal another series on the road to close out the month.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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