Lynn struck with Bernie Carbo, who led off the inning with a walk, on third base. Arroyo (0-1) came on to relieve starter Vern Ruhle after Carbo's walk.
Dwight Evans sacrificed Carbo to second, and Carl Yastrzemski grounded out, setting the stage for Lynn, who had three singles and scored a run prior to his game-winning at-bat.
The clutch homer made a winner of lefty Bill Lee, who went 7-2/3 innings. Dick Drago went the rest of the way for the save,
Lee gave up 11 hits but just two runs, both unearned.
Ruhle was even stingier, surrendering just four hits.
The Tigers jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the first.
Ron LeFlore led off with a single, advanced to second after an error, and scored on a two-out single by Bill Freehan.
Gary Sutherland had two more hits for the Tigers (5-7), giving him 21 for the season and a .429 batting average.
The Tigers have dropped the first two games of this weekend series with the Red Sox, each by identical 3-2 scores.
"Our offense just isn't clicking," Tigers manager Ralph Houk said of his team, which has scored just 38 runs in 12 games.
Indeed, despite the 11 hits, the Tigers never really put together any major threats against Lee.
In the fourth inning, Leon Roberts, trying to score from first on a double, was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Evans, whose cannon arm fired a strike to catcher Bob Montgomery on one hop from about 300 feet away.
Drago intentionally walked Ben Oglivie in the eighth inning after relieving Lee, then struck out Tom Veryzer to end a man on first and second threat. Drago then pitched a perfect ninth.
"We're not going to win very many games the way we're scoring runs," Sutherland said afterward. "Our pitching's been pretty good. We're just not bailing them out."
As for Lynn, Houk was effusive in his praise.
"If he played here, with that swing, he'd hit a bushel of homers," Houk said about Lynn's lefty bat and the short right field porch at Tiger Stadium. "He's going to be a good one."
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Record: 5-7 (actual 7-5)
Home: 2-6
Away: 3-1
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