Tigers 3, Blue Jays 2: Tork walks it off

Q: What was the final score of the Tigers vs Blue Jays game?

The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Detroit Tigers.

Q: Who hit the walk-off for the Tigers against the Blue Jays?

Spencer Torkelson hit the walk-off hit for the Tigers.

Q: What key plays contributed to the Tigers' victory over the Blue Jays?

Key plays included a stolen base by Matt Vierling and a game-tying double by Riley Greene.

Q: How did the Tigers' bullpen perform in the game against the Blue Jays?

The Tigers' bullpen performed well, with Drew Anderson pitching four scoreless innings and Kenley Jansen closing the game.

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) runs off the field after out on second base against Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Tigers came home from New York with their tails between their legs, hoping their fortunes would change with some home-cooking. An unexpected bullpen game (of sorts) with finally some strong pitching, a key stolen base and a well-placed line drive gave the Tigers a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game weekend series against a former division rival. Brenan Hanifee was the opener; he didn’t make the big-league team out of Spring Training this year, which was a little strange. He’s been a solid part of the Tigers’ bullpen the past two years, and especially in 2024 when he was sensational down the stretch. But, as the saying goes, “relievers are fungible,” so they can be great one year and lousy the next. The plan was for Ty Madden to be the Bulk Guy; he’s done that twice so far this season, and in his previous outing he started the third and finished the game. Kinda seems backwards to me. The Blue Jays started highly-regarded rookie Trey Yesavage. It seems weird to still think of him as a rookie, given how valuable a pitcher he was for the Jays in their World Series run last year, but the fact remains that tonight was his seventh major-league regular-season start. He gets a lot of attention in Toronto sports media, and rightly-so: he was a first-round draft pick in 2024, rocketed through the minor leagues in 2025, and had a mostly-sensational post-season too. He has an exaggerated over-the-top pitching motion that causes a ton of vertical break on his fastball. Hanifee had a 1-2-3 first inning, then threw one pitch in the second that hit for a double; came in to face a stretch of left-handed hitters. With two out he walked , and squeaked a double down the right-field line to score both runners. After Hurter walked Brandon Valenzuela — nice job with all those lefties, pal — Madden came on and got to fly out. In the top of the third, Madden got hit by a 108-mph Yohendrick Piñango line drive on the right arm, and he had to leave the game after two batters; so much for being the bulk guy. I just hope he’s alright; especially so given the spate of injuries to Tigers starting pitchers lately. became the fourth Tiger pitcher of the night, and they were going to have to get some length out of him, and the rest of the pitchers in the bullpen. Smith then picked off Piñango for a bit of revenge for injuring his teammate, which is nice. With one out in the bottom of the third, Kevin McGonigle walked and singled; McGonigle took third on a wild pitch and scored on *another* wild pitch to narrow the lead to 2-1. Smith gave the Tigers two innings, then — who has a background as a starter — took over. He got a nice 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth after giving up a single to Valenzuela. In the bottom of the sixth Dingler hit a grounder to Clement at second; he airmailed the throw and Dingler ended up on second base. Greene followed with a double on a middle-middle splitter to the right-field corner to score Dingler and tie the game at 2. Anderson ended up pitching four innings of one-hit, no-run baseball, doing a heck of a job in a game in which the guys in the bullpen probably thought they could relax for a while. took over for the ninth and he sandwiched a lineout between a pair of strikeouts. , who’s now sharing closer duties with , took over for the bottom of the ninth for the Jays. With one out blooped a single into centre; struck out and extra innings were looming. With at the plate, Vierling stole second base; this prompted manager John Schneider to intentionally walk McKinstry so Hoffman could face Spencer Torkelson, who went hitless in the series. Well, Torkelson must’ve been saving up his hits for just such an occasion, as he spanked a fastball to the right-centrefield gap; Vierling raced around third to score the winning run.