DETROIT, MI (9-9-26) — Keider Montero (#54) gave the Detroit Tigers exactly what they needed Wednesday afternoon: a chance to take control early and finish off a much-needed series victory.

Detroit defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-2 at Comerica Park, taking two of three from its American League Central rival and ending a seven-series losing streak.

For a Tigers club that had lost 16 of its previous 24 games, Wednesday offered something Detroit desperately needed — a positive afternoon at the ballpark and another encouraging performance from the 26-year-old Venezuelan right-hander.

Montero’s final line — four innings, two hits, two earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts — doesn’t fully tell the story.

He did not allow a hit through the first three innings and helped himself immediately. After hitting Luke Keaschall to open the game, Montero picked him off first base and worked through the inning without allowing Minnesota to score.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s young lineup went to work.

Hao-Yu Lee (#20) drew a first-inning walk before Colt Keith (#33) launched his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot that gave Detroit a 2-0 advantage.

The Tigers broke things open in the third. Riley Greene (#31) drew a bases-loaded walk, Dillon Dingler (#13) followed with a sacrifice fly, and Brett Callahan (#41) delivered an RBI ground-rule double to push Detroit’s advantage to 5-0.

Montero’s lone trouble came suddenly in the fourth.

Former Tiger Kody Clemens hit a solo home run, his 26th of the season, and Josh Bell followed with another solo shot. Two pitches that left the yard turned a dominant afternoon into a 5-2 game.

But what Montero did next may have been more important than the home runs themselves.

He settled down.

Instead of allowing the inning to unravel, Montero retired the next three Minnesota hitters, including a strikeout of Trevor Larnach, and walked off the mound with Detroit still holding a three-run advantage. The Twins managed only those two hits against him — both home runs.

For a young pitcher still establishing himself in Detroit’s rotation, that response was encouraging. Montero didn’t need perfection. He needed composure, and after surrendering consecutive homers, he showed it.

The bullpen took over from there.

Tyler Holton (#87) delivered two scoreless, hitless innings and earned the victory. Tyler Kinley (#40), Drew Sommers (#58) and Kyle Finnegan (#55) combined to finish the job as Minnesota was held scoreless over the final five innings.

Detroit added insurance late. Dingler drove home another run with a seventh-inning single, and John Peck (#68) brought Max Clark (#17) home in the eighth to make it 7-2.

The victory was also another glimpse of Detroit’s future. Six rookies were in the Tigers’ starting lineup, which had an average age of just 23.9 years.

For Montero, Wednesday wasn’t a masterpiece. The two home runs will be part of the pitching line. But so will the fact that Minnesota collected only two hits against him, that he protected an early Detroit lead, and that he responded to adversity rather than allowing two mistakes to become a disastrous inning.

And for the Tigers, a team searching for positive momentum as September moves forward, that may have been just as important as the final score.

Detroit improves to 67-79 and will have Thursday off before welcoming the Colorado Rockies to Comerica Park for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.