CHICAGO — Detroit Tigers shortstop Trey Sweeney hit a high flyball deep to straightaway center Wednesday night at Wrigley Field in the third game of his MLB career.

It was a delayed home run.

Sweeney pulled into third base standing up in the second inning, only because the ball deflected off the top of the brick wall above the ivy and beyond the basket, redirecting into the outfield grass. Moments later, he jogged home after a brief conversation amongst the umpires confirmed a personal milestone — his first career MLB home run.

"I was definitely hyped up," Sweeney said. "Running home, I was looking at my family in the stands."

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Sweeney's first homer (and the second hit of his career) jumpstarted the Tigers in an 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs in the second of three games in the series.

The Tigers scored seven of their eight runs with home runs, sparked by Sweeney.

"I knew I hit it well," Sweeney said. "It was kind of up there. I didn't know if it was gone or not. I was watching him track it and just hoping. Once I saw it come back, he kind of stopped going after it, so I thought it was a homer, but then there was no signal, so I was chilling at third base. It was a relief when I saw them do the home-run signal."

Not only did Sweeney homer, he continued to prove he can play shortstop in the big leagues by making numerous outs on defense, fielding balls cleanly to both his right and his left.

Sweeney appears to have good instincts at shortstop.

"He's very reliable, and it's steady," manager A.J. Hinch said. "One of the things that Joey (Cora, infield coach) is going to work on with him is certain little adjustments, but really, he makes all the plays. He made plays to his right with plenty of arm strength. He made plays to his left with a ton of athleticism. A lot to like about what he brings on the defensive side."

The Cubs didn't go down without a fight, but the Tigers (62-65) did enough in the second inning — scoring four runs — to keep them at bay in the late innings. The Tigers then tacked on four runs in the ninth inning, capped by Kerry Carpenter's three-run home run.

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A leadoff walk from Jace Jung, playing in the fifth game of his MLB career, set the tone for the Tigers in the second inning against right-hander Jameson Taillon.

With one out, Sweeney hit a hanging curveball from Taillon for a two-run home run. He hit the ball 414 feet with a 102.8 mph exit velocity.

His milestone homer gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

"Parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, brother, some college friends and some high school friends," said Sweeney, who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, but was selected No. 20 overall in the 2021 draft out of Eastern Illinois. "There was a lot of people here to watch. It was cool."

The Tigers extended their lead to 4-0 with two outs in the inning, thanks to back-to-back extra-base hits from Parker Meadows and Riley Greene.

Meadows hit a double to left-center field.

After that, Greene destroyed a fastball from Taillon for a two-run home run to right-center field — his 18th homer of the season. He hit the ball 422 feet with a 112 mph exit velocity, unleashing his best swing since being activated from the injured list.

It was Greene's third game in his return from a right hamstring strain.

"The walk at the beginning of the game, as odd as it sounds, probably sets his night positively," Hinch said of Greene. "Controlling the strike zone, and then doesn't miss a pitch. We've seen it a ton with Riley because he's a core part of our offense, and now he's got quite a bit of help."

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Brant Hurter in relief

A mid-game scare occurred when a comebacker deflected off the thigh of left-handed reliever Brant Hurter in the sixth inning, but he stayed in the game to complete his outing.

The rookie covered 3⅔ innings and allowed two runs, throwing 57 pitches.

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The Cubs trimmed the Tigers' lead to 4-2 in the fifth inning with Christian Bethancourt's two-run home run to left field on a sweeper that was supposed to sweep across the plate, but instead, the ball stayed on the inside part of the plate.

As a result, Bethancourt turned on the mistake pitch for a line-drive home run.

Otherwise, Hurter was solid in the fourth game of his MLB career, spanning 17⅔ innings out of the bullpen. He struck out four batters, including three of them in the third inning.

Right-handed reliever Beau Brieske covered the first and second innings as an opener.

After Hurter, the Tigers used right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee, left-handed reliever Tyler Holton and left-handed reliever Joey Wentz to finish the game. Holton inherited two of Hanifee's runners in the sixth inning, but he escaped the jam with a strikeout and a flyout.

Spencer Torkelson picked up by teammates

Spencer Torkelson went 0-for-4 with one strikeout in his fourth game since returning from Triple-A Toledo. The former No. 1 overall pick stranded runners in scoring position in the first and fifth innings.

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In the first, he popped out with runners on the corners. In the fifth, he struck out looking at a fastball inside the strike zone with runners on second and third base.

Torkelson, though, was picked up by his teammates, especially in the second and ninth innings. Meadows, Greene and Carpenter produced multi-hit performances, with three hits for Meadows and two hits apiece for Greene and Carpenter.

A two-out single from Greene increased the Tigers lead to 5-2 in the ninth inning. Carpenter made it 8-2 with a three-run home run to left-center field, swinging at an inside fastball in a 3-0 count.

It was Carpenter's 12th homer of the season.

"My past at-bats, or the past in general, doesn't really mean anything in the moment," Carpenter said, "so I never want to have a little more fear in my swing or my approach. I don't want to fear swinging at a ball 3-0. I want to go out there and know that I can make the right decision."

Meanwhile, Jung finished 0-for-3 with one walk and three strikeouts, also charged with two errors at third base.

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

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trey Sweeney's 1st HR lofts Detroit Tigers past Chicago Cubs, 8-2