DETROIT -- Riley Greene isn’t quite as superstitious now as he was during his prospect days, but he still has his habits. If the Tigers’ All-Star outfielder feels that his bat doesn’t have any more hits in it, he’s not afraid to switch it up. Sometimes, it just takes a hitless game.

So after going 0-for-4 Saturday, Greene swapped out the bat. It was his fifth switch this week, by his count.

After two homers -- both off left-handed pitchers -- and three RBIs in Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Orioles at Comerica Park, he was feeling good about his pick.

“That bat was swinging a little heavy, so I had to switch it up,” he said.

The victory in the rubber match of a three-game set kept the Tigers within 2 1/2 games of the Twins for the final AL Wild Card spot as Detroit prepares for a six-game road trip that begins in Kansas City and ends with another three-game set against the O’s in Baltimore.

The Tigers will likely see Cade Povich again during that series. Greene won’t likely see as good of a pitch to hit as he saw from the O’s rookie left-hander Sunday.

Though Greene has established himself as the centerpiece of this Tigers lineup, he had never homered against a left-handed starter before Sunday. He hadn’t homered off any lefty before getting to four southpaw relievers this season. While the Tigers loaded up on right-handed bats against Povich, they kept Greene among a quartet of left-handed bats.

Povich was nasty against Tigers righties, allowing only a Spencer Torkelson double while racking up six of his eight strikeouts against them. He fanned the top of the Tigers’ lineup in order in the first inning, including Greene with a sinker on the outside corner. It was a little jarring to Greene, who makes a point of saying he’s always on the fastball.

But with a runner on first and two outs in the third inning, Povich got too aggressive against Greene, who took a first-pitch fastball in the middle of the zone for a strike but was ready when Povich repeated it.

“I took a few pitches down the middle in the zone that I didn't want to take,” Greene said. “I decided I just needed to be aggressive and just be on go and got a good pitch to hit.”

The resulting 412-foot drive gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead and gave a young fan a souvenir, much to the delight of the kid’s family.

That was the lone mistake of the afternoon for Povich, who retired his final seven batters from there. But with Keider Montero picking up where he left off from his shutout five days earlier, it was enough to send Montero through five innings with the lead.

Matt Vierling’s two-out walk and stolen base off O’s All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman, who had thrown out two Tigers would-be basestealers on Friday, set up Colt Keith’s opposite-field RBI single off Jacob Webb, providing an add-on run that proved critical once Rutschman homered off Will Vest in the top of the eighth. With Detroit clinging to a one-run lead and former Tigers closer Gregory Soto on for the O’s to keep it close against the middle of Detroit’s order in the eighth, Greene stepped up again.

Greene knew Soto’s stuff from their time as teammates two years ago, from the power sinker to the wicked slider. But when Soto hung a sweeper in the middle of the zone with a 1-2 count, Greene was ready.

“It's still not a comfortable at-bat, just because he's really good,” Greene said. “Just trying to put the barrel on the ball.”

Greene’s 23rd home run of the season was his sixth off a lefty this year, tied for eighth-most among left-handed hitters against left-handed pitchers. The group ahead of him is star-studded: Juan Soto (13), Shohei Ohtani (11), Kyle Schwarber (11), Yordan Alvarez (10), Matt Olson (9), Bryce Harper (8) and Gunnar Henderson (8).

“There’s still growth [to come]. I mean, he’s not a finished product,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I know the All-Star season can make you feel that way. He’s still learning, growing, developing and getting more comfortable with his game plan. I thought he did a good job today with that specifically and staying with it.

“He’s a tremendous player as is, but he’s still got room to grow, and that’s the exciting part about him. He’s a continuous learner. He works his tail off, and he’s always in the middle of big things for us.”