CLEVELAND — In the aftermath of their Friday nightmare, the Detroit Tigers showed up for work with no visible scars, no signs of PTSD. There was no team meeting. No holes in the clubhouse walls. Just a later report time after the long day and another chance to beat the Cleveland Guardians. “Just trying to take it all a little more lighthearted today,” manager AJ Hinch said the day after the ...

Riley Green of the Detroit Tigers celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Cleveland.

Jason Miller/Getty Images North America/TNS

CLEVELAND — In the aftermath of their Friday nightmare, the Detroit Tigers showed up for work with no visible scars, no signs of PTSD. There was no team meeting. No holes in the clubhouse walls.

Just a later report time after the long day and another chance to beat the Cleveland Guardians.

“Just trying to take it all a little more lighthearted today,” manager AJ Hinch said the day after the Tigers were swept in a pair of walk-off losses. “We might be the only team that’s ever gotten walked off twice in a doubleheader after having the lead as late as we did. It’s a little like, ‘What can you do?’ Can’t change the outcome. We keep working.”

Riley Greene, who didn’t play in the Game 2 heartbreaker, did his All-Star best to alter the vibe. His bat accounted for four runs in the Tigers’ bounce-back 6-0 win over the Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday.

Against talented lefty Parker Messick, who struck out a career-high 12 in six innings, the lefty-swinging Greene hit a pair of backside homers. He also singled in a run and doubled in another.

Against Messick, Greene launched a two-strike cutter 407 feet over the high wall in right-center in the first inning. And he led off the sixth slamming a four-seam fastball 421 feet into the same set of bleachers.

They were homers Nos. 17 and 18 for Greene in his fifth game back off the injured list.

In between those big swings, Greene drove in another run off Messick with a single in the third inning.

In a three-run seventh, Greene ripped an RBI double off reliever Matt Festa and scored on a single by rookie Ben Malgeri, who contributed three hits.

The four RBIs tie Greene’s season high.

Given that the Tigers blew a 6-1 lead in Game 1 and a 3-0 lead in Game 2, any lead would feel precarious. But veteran lefty Framber Valdez allayed all fears.

He was brilliant, allowing three hits, all singles, in seven scoreless innings. He induced nine ground-ball outs, two of them were double-play balls.

Valdez showed the Guardians a new wrinkle, incorporating his little-used four-seam fastball into the game plan. It’s something he hadn’t shown in his first two starts against them.

But he threw 16 of them Saturday, 12 to right-handed hitters. Two of his three punch-outs came with the four-seamers. Three were put in play with a weak average exit velocity of 74.6 mph.

The four-seamer seemed to keep Guardians’ hitters from locking in on or ignoring his sinker.

The Guardians put multiple runners on base against Valdez only once. In the second inning, David Fry and Angel Genao singled. Petey Halpin dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners.

Valdez accepted the free out and proceeded to get Austin Hedges on a short fly to right and Brayan Rocchio on a grounder to short. That was the last hit and the last runner in scoring position against Valdez.

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