TAMPA (Interstat) — The Detroit Tigers outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays 10-9 on Monday, June 1, at George Steinbrenner Field in a game that featured seven home runs and a furious late-inning comeback by the home side.

Detroit improved to 23-38 with the win, while the Rays, who entered with the best record in the American League at 36-21, dropped their second straight.

The Tigers jumped on Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax from the opening pitch. Kevin McGonigle led off the game with a single, and Dillon Dingler followed with another single. After a strikeout, Riley Greene doubled to right field, scoring both McGonigle and Dingler for a 2-0 lead.

Detroit expanded its advantage in the third inning. McGonigle walked, and Dingler crushed a 1-0 pitch to center field for his 12th home run of the season, making it 4-0. Kerry Carpenter followed with a solo shot to right-center, his seventh. Riley Greene then went back-to-back with a homer to center, his fifth, pushing the lead to 6-0.

Tampa Bay got on the board in the fourth. Richie Palacios walked, and Junior Caminero launched a two-run homer to center, his 14th, cutting the deficit to 6-2.

Detroit answered immediately in the fifth. Dingler hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot to center, his 13th. That made it 7-2.

The Tigers added another run in the sixth when Hao-Yu Lee hit a solo homer to right, his second of the season, for an 8-2 advantage.

But the Rays began their charge in the bottom of the sixth. Palacios walked, and Caminero also walked after a successful challenge. Ryan Vilade, who entered the game as a pinch runner for Chandler Simpson in the fifth, then hit a three-run homer to left-center, pulling Tampa Bay within 8-5.

Detroit regained some breathing room in the eighth. Lee singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Dingler’s double to center. Carpenter followed with a double to left that scored Dingler, extending the lead to 10-5.

The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the eighth. Caminero walked, and after Vilade flied out, Victor Mesa Jr. walked. Cedric Mullins also walked to load the bases. Nick Fortes then doubled to left, scoring Caminero and Mesa to cut it to 10-7. Ben Williamson singled to right, with the ball deflected by first baseman Spencer Torkelson, scoring Mullins and Fortes to make it 10-9. Yandy Díaz reached on a fielder’s choice, and a throwing error by Lee allowed Williamson to advance to second. But Detroit reliever Will Vest induced a groundout and a flyout to end the inning with the lead intact.

The Tigers bullpen held in the ninth. After a leadoff groundout, Vilade struck out on a foul tip and Mesa struck out swinging, giving Vest his first save of the season.

Detroit’s offense was powered by three players with multi-hit games. Dillon Dingler went 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs, continuing a hot stretch after a 1-for-4 performance with a homer on May 29 and a 2-for-3 showing on May 27. Riley Greene finished 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Kerry Carpenter went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and two RBIs.

For Tampa Bay, Ryan Vilade went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and three RBIs. Junior Caminero was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and two walks.

Tyler Holton earned the win for Detroit, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings with one hit allowed and one strikeout. He improved to 1-4. Jax took the loss, falling to 1-4 after allowing seven runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings. Vest notched the save.

Detroit starter Ty Madden went 3 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts. Kyle Finnegan contributed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Vest pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and one earned run while striking out two.

Tampa Bay’s offense outhit Detroit 8-14 in terms of hits but left six runners on base.

The game was a stark contrast to recent results for both teams. Detroit had lost five of its last six, including a 2-1 defeat at the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Tampa Bay had won eight of its last 10, though it dropped a 5-3 decision to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

The Tigers continue their three-game series in Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home to host Seattle on Friday. The Rays also host Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday, then travel to Miami for a weekend series against the Marlins.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay 5, Detroit 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Rays a 61.20 percent probability to win. Tampa Bay was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. The total score of 19 went under the over-under line of 7.5.