Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson received a first-pitch, middle-middle fastball in the second inning Friday night from Los Angeles Angels right-hander Griffin Canning.

It was a pitch Torkelson should crush.

And he did just that.

Torkelson, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, turned on the fastball — clocked at 93 mph — for a two-run home run to left-center field. His homer helped the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Angels in the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park. (The game didn't start until 8:30 p.m., instead of 6:40 p.m., because of a rain delay.)

"We're going to talk about trying to finish the series," manager A.J. Hinch said, when asked about the wild-card race. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, and obviously, we are in a much better place than we've been, and we've earned it, but that doesn't help us win tomorrow, so I have to keep everybody grounded and keep their head where their feet are and continue to push forward and try to play games like today."

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The Tigers (68-66) have won six games in a row, as well as 13 of their past 16 games (dating back to Aug. 11). They're only 4½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the third and final spot in the American League wild-card, with 28 games remaining.

"Of course it sinks in," Torkelson said, "but it's good to control the controllable. We go about our business every single day, handle what we can, and at the end of the year, we'll see where we're at. When teams start looking towards the future, like, 'Oh, we're right there, we're so close,' they start to press and lose the character that got them there. I think we need to stick with what we got, keep playing hard, keep having fun and keep pulling for each other, and I think good things are going to happen."

Before Torkelson's swing, rookie Jace Jung drew a 10-pitch walk with one out in the second inning. He fell into a two-strike count within the first three pitches, only to foul off four of the final seven pitches to take a hard-earned free pass.

The next pitch from Canning was the middle-middle fastball to Torkelson, crushed 408 feet with a 106.1 mph exit velocity to put the Tigers ahead, 2-0.

"That's huge," Torkelson said of Jung's 10-pitch walk. "If only he could get half a homer for that. That's a lot on him. He was probably worn out a little bit and laid it in there, and I was definitely ready."

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Torkelson, who has seven homers in 65 games this season, is hitting .333 with four home runs, four walks and 12 strikeouts in 11 games since returning from Triple-A Toledo.

He finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs in Wednesday's victory.

The Tigers extended their lead to 3-0 when Kerry Carpenter slapped a single into right field in the third inning. Jake Rogers, who walked to open the inning, scampered home from third base.

Canning allowed three runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts across five innings, throwing 93 pitches. The Tigers were shut out after the third inning, but three runs were enough to beat the Angels.

"I think we're finding different ways to win," Torkelson said. "It's a really tough lineup to crack. I feel like everyone is putting together solid at-bats, one through nine, and when you do that, it's really tough for a pitching staff to handle. On the pitching side, I think we're throwing the ball really well and playing solid defense behind them. That's the recipe for some wins."

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Kenta Maeda keeps Tigers in front

Right-handed reliever Mason Englert tossed two scoreless innings, flashing a wicked changeup, to set the tone as the opener. After that, right-hander Kenta Maeda took over as the bulk reliever.

Maeda allowed two runs (none earned) on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 81 pitches. He kept the Angels from scoring until the sixth inning.

"It's always fun to win," Maeda said in Japanese, interpreted by Daichi Sekizaki. "I think we definitely have something special going on. As a pitcher, even if you give up a run, you know the batter is going to have your back. That's always a good feeling."

In the sixth, Mickey Moniak turned on a mistake — a middle-middle sweeper — for a two-run home run to right-center, doing so with two outs. Before the homer, Logan O'Hoppe reached safely on a throwing error by shortstop Trey Sweeney.

The runs were unearned because of Sweeney's rare mistake, the first error of his MLB career.

The Angels trimmed the Tigers' lead to 3-2, but Maeda finished the sixth inning and returned for one out in the seventh. He walked off the mound to an ovation from the fans.

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Maeda generated nine whiffs on 40 swings — a 22.5% whiff rate — with six splitters, two sliders and one sinker. His splitter produced a 30% whiff rate, missing bats six times on 20 swings.

"I think my splitter was working effectively," Maeda said. "I don't have an overpowering fastball, so I got to mix in different pitches. I think I was able to do that."

Finishing the job

When Maeda exited, right-handed reliever Beau Brieske inherited a runner on first base and one out in the seventh inning. He induced a flyout, but for the third out, Rogers threw out Jo Adell trying to steal second base.

Brieske went back to work in the eighth.

He worked around a two-out double from Anthony Rendon, striking out O'Hoppe swinging with a 98.6 mph fastball to strand the runner in scoring position.

Right-handed reliever Jason Foley fired a scoreless ninth inning, racking up his 19th save.

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 edge Los Angeles Angels, 3-2, on Spencer Torkelson HR