DETROIT (Interstat) — In a game defined by powerful counterpunches, the Detroit Tigers unleashed a dormant offensive force, hitting four home runs to outslug the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 in a rain-shortened contest Saturday at Comerica Park.

The game was called after eight and a half innings following a 40-minute rain delay with one out in the top of the ninth, handing the Tigers their second straight win over the Cardinals and leveling both teams’ records at 4-4.

Detroit, which had managed only two homers in its first seven games, erupted for four on a chilly evening before an announced crowd of 28,708. Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry and Matt Vierling each launched two-run shots and drove in three runs apiece, while Gleyber Torres added a solo blast.

The Tigers seized immediate control against Cardinals starter Dustin May (0-2). After Colt Keith’s leadoff single in the first, Torres drove him in with a single that was compounded by a Victor Scott II error in center field. Carpenter followed by crushing May’s next offering over the left-field wall for a 3-0 Detroit lead.

St. Louis chipped away, scoring a run in the third on an RBI single by Jordan Walker. Detroit answered in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly from Carpenter, then broke the game open in the fourth. After Dillon Dingler was hit by a pitch, McKinstry connected for his first homer of the year, a two-run shot to right that tied the game at 6-6. Parker Meadows then tripled and scored on Vierling’s sacrifice fly to reclaim the lead.

The Cardinals’ response was thunderous. In the top of the fifth, they loaded the bases against the Detroit bullpen on a hit-by-pitch, a walk and an Alec Burleson RBI double. Facing Brant Hurter (1-0), Jordan Walker then delivered the game’s most significant swing, obliterating a 1-0 fastball for a grand slam to left-center field. The blast, Walker’s second of the year, suddenly put St. Louis ahead 7-6 and momentarily silenced the home crowd.

Detroit, however, demonstrated a resilience absent in its early-season struggles. The Tigers immediately clawed back in the bottom of the fifth. A walk, a single and a key two-out, RBI single from McKinstry tied the game at 8-8.

From there, the Detroit bullpen slammed the door. Tyler Holton, Will Vest and Jason Foley combined for three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. The Tigers’ offense provided the final exclamation points. Torres led off the seventh with a solo homer to right-center. Then, in the eighth, after a Spencer Torkelson single, Vierling pinch-hit and demolished a two-run homer to right, extending the lead to 11-6.

The Cardinals, who managed only six hits, grounded into two double plays that stifled potential rallies. Their pitchers struggled with command, combining for 55 balls against just 14 strikes, while Detroit’s staff issued 63 balls against 8 strikes.

The game time was 2 hours, 58 minutes, not including the 40-minute rain delay that ultimately prompted its premature conclusion.

The Tigers’ offensive breakout defied pregame projections, which had favored Detroit but predicted a lower-scoring affair. The combined 17 runs sailed over the posted over/under line of 7.5.

The two teams conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park.