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No Riley Greene? No Colt Keith? A.J. Hinch explains Detroit Tigers lineup decision
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- No Riley Greene? No Colt Keith? A.J. Hinch explains Detroit Tigers lineup decision
The Detroit Tigers play 12 games in a row coming out of the All-Star break, drawing 11 right-handed pitchers and one left-handed pitcher before their July 31 off day.
That lone lefty, Yusei Kikuchi , started Saturday's game for the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of three games at Rogers Centre.
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That led Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to sit outfielder Riley Greene and second baseman Colt Keith , a pair of left-handed hitters also known as the best hitters on the roster, for matchup and scheduling reasons.
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"We have 10 games in a row after this of all right-handed pitching," Hinch said, "so guys like Riley and Colt will see plenty of action in those 10 days until the next off day. If I'm going to give them a start off, it should be against Kikuchi in general, but even more so where it's at in our schedule."
Detroit Tigers second baseman Colt Keith (33) is congratulated by outfielder Riley Greene (31) after scoring in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
Both players are expected to pinch-hit as soon as a right-handed reliever enters Saturday's game.
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Greene and Keith have carried the Tigers' offense in the 2024 season, and as a result of their recent successes, the Tigers (48-50) are two games under .500 for the first time since June 13.
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Greene, a 23-year-old first-time All-Star, is hitting .271 with 17 home runs, 49 walks and 103 strikeouts in 97 games. Keith, a 22-year-old rookie, is hitting .250 with nine home runs, 22 walks and 62 strikeouts in 87 games. Since May 1, Keith is hitting .293 with all nine of his homers in 61 games.
Everyone else on the Tigers' roster — aside from injured outfielder Kerry Carpenter — has delivered either average or below average offensive production for the entire season.
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Facing Kikuchi, though, the Tigers called upon second baseman Andy Ibáñez in Keith's place and left fielder Ryan Vilade in Greene's place. Ibáñez is hitting .390 against left-handed pitchers, but he struggles against right-handed pitchers.
"He's tough," Hinch said of Kikuchi, who has a 4.42 ERA in 20 starts. "He's got a lot of pitches. He's got velocity. He's been very dominant at times during the season, so the more right-handed hitters you can get, the better. It's no easy task for them, either."
Greene has been worse against left-handed pitchers compared to right-handed pitchers this season, even though the quality of his plate appearances against lefties have improved in his third MLB season. Keith, meanwhile, hits .256 with a .617 OPS against lefties, compared to .249 and .706 against righties.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers lineup vs. Toronto: Why Riley Greene and Colt Keith sat
