Kerry Carpenter's 2-run homer sends the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays

DETROIT (AP) — Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer for a second straight game and the Detroit Tigers edged the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Saturday.

Reese Olson (1-5) limited the Blue Jays to one unearned run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings to earn his first victory of the season. He left his previous start at Kansas City with a right hip contusion after being struck by a line drive.

Olson, who was making his 10th start of the season, has also been dealing with a lack of run support in previous outings. His ERA dropped to 1.92 after delivering another quality start.

Tyler Holton got the last three outs for his second career save and first of the season.

Carpenter also had a two-run homer in Detroit's 6-2 win over Toronto on Friday.

Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios (5-4) gave up two runs and seven hits while striking out five in seven innings.

The Tigers grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first. Carpenter followed a two-out double by Mark Canha by lining Berrios' changeup over the right-field fence. The homer was Carpenter's eighth of the season.

Kevin Kiermaier had a one-out triple in the third but was left stranded. Toronto loaded the bases in the fifth on two singles and a two-out walk before Olson struck out Justin Turner on a changeup.

The Blue Jays scored an unearned run in the seventh. Olson walked Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who stole second. Ernie Clement reached on first baseman Canha's error.

Olson was removed in favor of Alex Faedo, who gave up Davis Schneider's two-out double to score Kiner-Falefa. Shortstop Javier Baez threw out Justin Turner on a slow bouncer to keep the score at 2-1.

Kiner-Falefa had a one-out double in the ninth. He advanced to third on a flyout, but Holton struck out pinch hitter Danny Jansen to clinch Detroit's win.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (2-4, 2.64 ERA) will oppose right-hander Casey Mize (1-3, 4.57 ERA) in the finale of the four-game series on Sunday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider (36) catches a Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith fly ball in foul territory as Ernie Clement (28) looks on in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa tags Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter (30) out attempting to steal second base in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter singles against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter (30) celebrates his two-run home run with Mark Canha against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos throws against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Tigers pitcher Reese Olson throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter hits a two-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit, his first in 24 years, both countries announced.

Putin is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks focused on expanding military cooperation as they deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Putin will pay a state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday at Kim's invitation. North Korean state media didn’t immediately provide details. Russia confirmed the visit in a simultaneous announcement.

The visit comes amid growing international concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Putin, their first since 2019.

U.S. and South Korean officials have accused the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers, which would be in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Any weapons trade with North Korea would be a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that Russia, a permanent U.N. Security Council member, previously endorsed.

Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea at Kookmin University in Seoul, noted that in exchange for providing artillery munitions and short-range ballistic missiles, Pyongyang hopes to get higher-end weapons from Moscow.

Lankov noted that while Russia could be reluctant to share its state-of-the-art military technologies with North Korea, it’s eager to receive munitions from Pyongyang. “There is never enough ammunition in a war, there is a great demand for them,” Lankov told The Associated Press.

Putin first visited Pyongyang in July 2000, months after his first election when he met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, who ruled the country then.

Moscow has said it “highly appreciates” Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine and mentioned its “close and fruitful cooperation” at the United Nations and other international organizations.

Russia, together with China, have repeatedly blocked the U.S. and its partners’ attempts to impose fresh U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its barrage of banned ballistic missile tests.

In March, a Russian veto at the United Nations ended monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid scrutiny as it allegedly violates the sanctions to buy weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Putin sent Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine, which he had shown to the North Korean leader when they met for a summit in September. Observers said the shipment violated a U.N. resolution aimed at pressuring the North to give up its nuclear weapons program by banning the supply of luxury items to North Korea.

Putin has continuously sought to rebuild ties with Pyongyang as part of his efforts to restore his country’s global clout and its Soviet-era alliances. Moscow’s ties with North Korea weakened after the 1991 Soviet collapse. Kim Jong Un first met with Putin in 2019 in Russia’s eastern port of Vladivostok.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia on Sept. 13, 2023. North Korean leader Kim hailed the country's relationship with Russia on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, as reports suggest that Russian President Putin will soon visit the isolated country for his third meeting with Kim.(Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. North Korean leader Kim hailed the country's relationship with Russia on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, as reports suggest that Russian President Putin will soon visit the isolated country for his third meeting with Kim.(Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)