The Detroit Tigers won't stop winning.

The Tigers scored six runs in the first inning en route to a 7-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in the second of three games in the series, extending their winning streak to four games. The Tigers, still down by three games in the American League wild-card race, have an opportunity Thursday to sweep the series and extend their streak with ace Tarik Skubal on the mound.

There are 16 games remaining.

"It's incredible," said catcher Jake Rogers, when asked about the red-hot stretch of 20 wins in 28 games. "Everybody in this clubhouse, I want them to get this feeling of being in the hunt and being able to push into September because we got a good enough team to do it. I want these guys to know, we got something to work for this year, next year and the years coming. We got a great team. We can do it."

As for Wednesday's win, right-hander Casey Mize put a zero on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, immediately followed by the outburst from the offense.

"One of the goals today was be a little bit more crisp in the first," Mize said. "Good first inning, especially the bottom half. I don't want to say it feels like the game is over, but it feels like if I can go out there and pound the strike zone, I feel really good about our chance to win."

The Tigers scored six runs in the first frame for the first time since scoring seven in July 2018.

Riley Greene, the two-hole hitter, kickstarted the scoring with a solo home run to right field off right-hander Tanner Gordon. His 21st homer put the Tigers ahead, 1-0.

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The Tigers (75-71) didn't slow down.

After Greene's homer, Kerry Carpenter tripled for a 2-0 lead, Spencer Torkelson drove him in with a single for a 3-0 lead, and rookie Trey Sweeney crushed a three-run home run to make it 6-0.

"We're good hitters," Greene said.

Facing Gordon, Sweeney fell into a two-strike count within two pitches, but he took three balls and fouled off two fastballs to extend the plate appearance to an eighth pitch. On that delivery, Sweeney turned on an up-and-in slider for a 407-foot homer to right field.

He hit the ball with a 108.5 mph exit velocity.

It was the fourth homer of Sweeney's 21-game MLB career, but more notably, it was the third homer in his past seven games. He also had a four-hit game in that stretch.

"Nine at-bats in the first, six positive, six score," manager A.J. Hinch said. "There were a couple we'd like back, but you hand the baton to the next guy, and it seemed like the at-bats got better and better. It was a good job of executing the plan that we talked about a couple hours prior to the game."

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The Tigers increased their lead to 7-1 in the fourth inning on Greene's sacrifice fly. Third base coach Joey Cora surprised everyone when he tested the strong arm of center fielder Brenton Doyle by sending Rogers — not known for his speed — home from third base. The ball skipped off the back of the pitcher's mound, so there wasn't a play at the plate.

Carpenter, one of the best power hitters on the team, went 4-for-4 and finished a home run shy of the cycle. He had an opportunity for the cycle in the seventh inning, facing left-handed reliever Luis Peralta, but he hit a dribbler for an infield single.

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Casey Mize starts

Mize delivered one of his best performances of the season — until his final inning.

His splitter was incredible.

Mize, a former No. 1 overall pick who has a 4.47 ERA in 19 starts, allowed four runs on six hits and zero walks with seven strikeouts across 4⅔ innings, throwing 66 pitches. Six of his seven strikeouts were swinging strikeouts, and his splitter generated eight whiffs on 13 swings.

"I really just think it's about recording outs," Hinch said. "I get the swing-and-miss infatuation. I get wanting to do it a certain way. We're at the point of the season where we're just trying to get outs. If he gets soft contact early, cool. If he can get swing-and-miss, great. I'm in the no-judgment mindset of just get your outs."

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The 27-year-old limited the Rockies to one run (and two hits) before giving up three runs on four hits in the fifth inning. His slider was responsible for three of the six hits throughout his start, with the three hits off the slider resulting in the four runs.

Those three hits? Ryan McMahon's solo home run in the second inning, Ezequiel Tovar's two-run double in the fifth inning and Doyle's RBI single in the fifth.

"They just found some grass in the outfield on a couple sliders," Mize said. "I maybe would have preferred those just a little bit more down than they were. Not horrible pitches, but with them being aggressive, I can expand the zone a little bit. Probably should have done that."

The Rockies trimmed the Tigers' deficit to 7-4 with two outs in the fifth, which is when Mize exited. He had more gas in the tank, but the Tigers didn't want Mize to face McMahon for a third time.

Instead, the Tigers turned to left-handed reliever Tyler Holton with a runner on second base. McMahon worked a full count but flew out to left field in foul territory to end the fifth inning.

"I love the calmness that he brings to this game and the execution that comes with it," Hinch said of Holton. "It just feels like his execution has been so good that he puts us in a good spot. ... It's no secret. I turn to him usually at the first sign of an issue when we have the lead."

Bullpen shines

After Mize, the Tigers received scoreless performances from Holton (two innings), right-hander Will Vest (1⅓ innings) and right-hander Jason Foley (one inning) out of the bullpen.

Vest had the most impressive inning in the eighth, retiring three of the four best-hitting Rockies in a row: Doyle (groundout), McMahon (groundout) and Michael Toglia (strikeout).

Toglia struck out swinging on a 96.6 mph fastball.

Vest has a 2.86 ERA with 17 walks and 58 strikeouts across 63 innings in 62 relief appearances. Dating to Aug. 18, he has completed 10⅓ innings of one-run ball with zero walks and 11 strikeouts.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers continue roll over Colorado Rockies with 7-4 victory