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But… it’s definitely NOT the Bullpen’s fault!!!
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@spreadsheetguy
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Trade all 3! Super high value!
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Dingler… definitely replaceable.
We have “prospects”…. 
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“I knew if he got in the game, in a close game, and he could keep his pitch count down, he was gonna go at least two (innings), and I wasn’t gonna take the ball away from him,” Hinch said.
“He was throwing the ball too well, he was very pitch efficient. We needed three more outs, Keider is as locked in as he’s been as a big leaguer, and he got us to the finish line.”
Montero almost allowed a hit to begin the bottom of the ninth as Jung hit a liner to third base, but Keith made a great grab and got the throw to first in time for the first out. Montero then forced a deep flyout, followed a groundout to end an impressive relief stint.
“Keider is a great pitcher, great human being,” Dingler said. “He’ll do anything for this team, whether it be in the pen, whether it’s starting, you know exactly what you’re going to get, you’re gonna get everything he has, so you know I’m really excited for him.”
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the Tigers needed a bounce-back performance on the mound. Jack Flaherty had a rough stretch, starting the season with an 0-7 record as a starting pitcher. But ever since returning from the IL, he’s been as sharp as ever.
Detroit Tigers Tickets: Buy tickets to see the Detroit Tigers this season.
First there was the Astros’ game on June 28, where he struck out nine batters and only allowed two hits and no runs even though the Tigers would eventually lose that game in extras.
But Saturday, he struck out five, allowed three hits and pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless ball, part of another dominant outing to get his second win of the season.
“Jack was awesome today, I would even go back further than that, his three (starts) before going on the IL were really good," catcher Dillon Dingler said on Detroit SportsNet. "He’s just fine tuning some things we were able to keep them off balance and he pitched really deep in the game and put us in a great position.”
The Rangers didn’t get a runner in scoring position until that sixth inning thanks to a Josh Jung two-out double that knocked Flaherty out of the game. But Tyler Holton entered to face Brandon Ninmo and forced a ground-out to end the inning.
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One thing I didn’t
You can point to a lot of things that have gone wrong for the Tigers this season, which began with World Series aspirations, and has morphed into a waiting game to see what they’ll get in return if (and likely when) they sell ahead of the trade deadline. The injuries. The bullpen. The lack of another impact bat.
It may not seem as impactful on the surface, but the bench has seen a significant dropoff from the previous two years, when mixing and matching often made manager AJ Hinch look like a genius.
The Tigers’ pinch-hitting stats are particularly jarring:
- 2024: .657 OPS
- 2025: .723 OPS
- 2026: .468 OPS
The Tigers have five players with at least 10 pinch-hit at-bats this season, and only one has a batting average better than .200 (Hao-Yu Lee, at .300). Jahmai Jones is batting .172 as the Tigers’ most-used pinch-hitter, with 13 strikeouts in 29 at-bats. Kerry Carpenter is at .100, Colt Keith .063 and Matt Vierling .000. Vierling, interestingly, doesn’t have any strikeouts in 11 pinch-hit at-bats, but he doesn’t have any hits, either. In 111 pinch-hit at-bats this season, the Tigers have just 15 hits and 35 strikeouts. They’ve hit just .135.
I think it’s time for Hinch to give Carp and Keith the same opportunity vs LHP
Also, we forget how young Greene is.
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This season, he has become a more complete offensive threat.
Sure, some focus solely on the strikeouts. While Greene has made an effort to cut down on them – he led the American League with a Tigers-record 201 (in 600 at-bats) last season – they haven’t entirely gone away. He entered Saturday at 100 strikeouts in 317 at-bats in 2026, a pace that would put him at 185 on the season – which would be the second-most in franchise history.
But let me tell you how he has improved dramatically this season. Last year, the left-handed Greene had a .290 on-base percentage and a .620 OPS against left-handed pitching. This year, those marks are .375 and .734, respectively. That’s an 85-point improvement in OBP vs. lefties – and a 114-point improvement in OPS.
That’s growth.
That’s key to his future.
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Always targeted, with little protection.
You forget, well, that he’s still improving.
But here he is, still grinding at a high level, about to head to his third straight MLB All-Star Game later this month.
“It’s great,” Greene said on Saturday, July 4, after being named to the American League squad as a reserve. “I’m super-excited. I feel like once you make one, you want to make all of them. There’s just something as a baseball player, someone who competes, it’s like you want to be in all of them, so it’s, it’s awesome.”
You know the last Tigers outfielder to make at least three in a row? Al Freakin’ Kaline – “Mr. Tiger” himself – who made 13 straight from 1955-67.
“Anytime you mention ‘Mr. Tiger,’ you should pinch yourself and make sure it’s real,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The things that he’s accomplishing, and the areas where he wants to grow and get better, I mean, this is a kid that’s not satisfied just making the team. He’s worked his way to the top of the lineup. He’s worked his way to being a very big player on this team.”
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“I’m more experienced,” Greene said. “Mentally, knowing what to expect. Knowing the ups and downs of the season are gonna happen.”
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Even though Greene is just 25, he has become a tremendous example for young players such as Kevin McGonigle, who is 21.
“The biggest thing that impresses me about him is you cannot tell when he’s going bad or he’s going good,” McGonigle said. “He’s the same guy every day. You know, those kinds of teammates are always the best ones. They stay even-keel through the highs and the lows. So that’s also really good for me to look at and kind of learn from that.”
And yes, McGonigle is impressed with Greene’s hitting technique.
“He generates so much bat speed, and his bat-to-ball skill is there as well,” McGonigle said. “So just the way he’s getting the bat on the ball has been really, really cool to watch.”
So, when you consider Riley Greene, I keep thinking about how he is the first to do this since Mr. Tiger.
“It’s pretty cool to be in the same sentence as that guy,” Greene said. “So, it’s pretty special.”
It’s amazing really. To do this year after year after year. Kaline was phenomenal, of course, to do it for 13 years.
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That’s positive might be able to trade him yet again if he keeps pitching better. History repeats itself
it may yet get interesting if our number 5 starter can pitch like that. biggest stat: NO walks! Cmon, you got me hopeful again, now take this series!
And is Monteiro MVP of this team so far.? Maybe a stretch but not hyperbole!
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Hopefully Mize can put together another gem today and the BP not ■■■■ it up. Just thinking out loud .
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After last seasons post All Star game collapse I can’t say I’m really excited about any of our players going to the All Star game.
Also, what is the typical protocol for pitchers that are pegged for the All Star game. Both Skubal and Mize have apparently been named to the All Star game pitching staff (with Skubal being the starter), but they are also currently supposed to be our starting pitchers for the July 11th (Mize) and July 12th (Skubal) games against the Phillies. Would it be normal protocol for Hinch to skip those starts for them so that they can pitch in the All Star game?
And lastly, I hope Greene nor Dingler plan to take part in the HR competition.
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They won’t completely skip a start but will probably get pushed back a couple of games.
Can McGonigle and Greene and Dingler have an intervention with Torkelson about how it’s ok not to try and hit a HR every time up to the plate. The guy is regressing…..big time. I mean the guy is costing himself a pile of cash.
Is he regressing, or, showing what he really is as a MLB player?
Edit
When Torres comes back I would put Keith at first, Lee at third, and McGonigle at ss.
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I’d like to see McG as the every day SS until he show’s if he cant handle it….I actually feel that way about a few players on this team and their corresponding positions/line up spots…but that’d be too uncomplicated I reckon 
Greene with a 2run ahot, hes on a heater rt now.
2-1 Tigers
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He’s still at 101 K’s so far, on pace for 200 (would like to see that trimmed down to 170-180ish), but his walks are up and so is the .ops..definitely having a better season than last at the plate with his approach.