PITTSBURGH -- Shane Greene allowed himself to revel in the moment. For a split-second.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a grand slam for his 100th career home run, and Greene pitched six strong innings in his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery last August to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

"It means a lot," Greene said when asked if it were special to win his first post-surgery start.

Then he quickly added, "We're just trying to win ballgames."

Saltalamacchia helped make Greene a winner by connecting off Arquimedes Caminero (0-2) with two outs in the sixth inning, hitting a drive into the right-field bleachers that enabled the Tigers to erase a 2-1 deficit. Detroit loaded the bases on a double by Miguel Cabrera, a walk to J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos' single.

It was the second home run of the season for Saltalamacchia, a 10-year veteran who has taken over as the Tigers' primary catcher after James McCann was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a sprained right ankle.

"It's nice to reach that milestone; it's a nice, round number and it means you've produced over the course of your career," Saltalamacchia said. "What made it special, though, is that it helped us establish a lead. It came at an important point in the ballgame."

Greene (1-0) allowed two runs and three hits in six innings in his first start of the season, which was delayed after the Tigers were rained out Sunday night against the New York Yankees. He struck out seven and walked three in helping Detroit win for the fifth time in seven games to start the season.

Greene recorded a save last Wednesday at Miami in his only other appearance, which was his first regular-season action since having surgery to repair a damaged artery.

"He was a little rusty early because he hadn't pitched in a week and hadn't started since spring training," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Once he knocked the rust off, he pitched well."

Ian Kinsler hit a solo home run, his third, and drove in two runs for the Tigers (5-2), while J.D. Martinez and Anthony Gose each had two of Detroit's 10 hits. Martinez extended his season-opening hitting streak to seven games and raised his batting average to .448.

The Pirates (5-4) lost for the fourth time in five games since starting the season with four wins in a row.

Ryan Vogelsong made a spot start for the Pirates in place of left-hander Francisco Liriano, who has a strained right hamstring, and gave up only one run and four hits in five innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. The 38-year-old lost out to lefty Jeff Locke and Juan Nicasio in a three-way competition for the final two starting spots in the spring training.

It marked the first time Vogelsong faced the Tigers since Game 3 of the 2012 World Series, when he pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the San Francisco Giants for the win at Detroit. The Giants swept that series.

"I'm confident in what I do and what I can do and what I still have left in the tank," Vogelsong said. "To me age is just a number. I know people talk about how old I am and how long I've been around but I feel a lot younger than my numbers say."

Andrew McCutchen's RBI double in the eighth got Pittsburgh within 5-3.

The Tigers extended their lead to four runs with a two-run ninth as Kinsler hit a sacrifice fly and Martinez added an RBI single off the glove of leaping second baseman Josh Harrison.

David Freese had two of the Pirates' four hits.

The Pirates took advantage of wildness by Greene to score two runs in the first inning. Francisco Cervelli drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the first run, and the second scored when Gregory Polanco beat the relay throw on a potential inning-ending double-play grounder.

Kinsler got the Tigers on the board by leading off the fourth inning with a home run to straightaway center field.

"It was a little crispy out there," Greene said of the game-time temperature of 54 degrees. "It took me an inning to get the feel for my pitches, then everything was fine after that."

NOTES: Pirates OF/1B Michael Morse was designated for assignment before the game to clear a roster spot for RHP AJ Schugel, whose pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings after his contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis. ... Pirates RHP Jared Hughes (strained left lat) threw live batting practice Wednesday at extended spring training in Bradenton, Fla., and is getting closer to beginning a rehab assignment. ... Pirates C Elias Diaz (strained right elbow) will seek a second opinion and there is concern he might need season-ending Tommy John ligament transplant surgery. ... Tigers CF Cameron Maybin (broken right wrist), whose rehab assignment was moved from high-Class A Lakeland to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, will be evaluated Saturday by team doctors. ... Tigers RHP Alex Wilson (right rotator cuff capsulitis), who had pitched twice on a rehab assignment at Lakeland, worked two-thirds of an inning for Toledo on Wednesday night and is scheduled to pitch again Thursday then be evaluated by team doctors on Friday. ... The two-game series concludes Thursday afternoon with Detroit RHP Jordan Zimmermann (1-0, 0.00 ERA) facing Pittsburgh RHP Gerrit Cole (0-1, 5.79).