Aggressive Justyn-Henry Malloy drives Detroit Tigers to 9-9 tie with Tampa Bay Rays

Story by

Story by
Aggressive Justyn-Henry Malloy drives Detroit Tigers to 9-9 tie with Tampa Bay Rays

Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press · Detroit Free Press

Sun, Feb 25, 2024 ·

5 min read

About Our Ads

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers tied the Tampa Bay Rays , 9-9, at Charlotte Sports Park on Sunday in their first road game of the 2024 Grapefruit League season.

The Tigers built a 9-3 lead in the seventh inning, but the Rays came back after the Tigers emptied their bench. Tampa Bay tied it with a couple of homers — including an inside-the-park shot off a bloop hit — and three doubles, scoring six unanswered runs.

There were 5,130 in attendance.

What happened

Despite letting a victory slip away, the Tigers' youngsters made a statement on Sunday afternoon.

Justyn-Henry Malloy, who is fighting for a bench spot, came out aggressive at the plate — a change the Tigers want — and he picked up a pair of hits, including a homer.

"In that particular split instance, in the moment, I was like, this is the pitch to hit — go!" Malloy said. "And I went."

Detroit Tigers Justyn-Henry Malloy (82) is greeted by Zach McKinstry after his solo homer in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024.

FIGHTING FOR SPOTS: Detroit Tigers 2024 roster prediction 3.0: Are the 13 position players already locked in?

Justice Bigbie, a former 19th-round pick and one of the most intriguing players in camp because of how he has soared through the system, got his first Grapefruit League start in left field. Bigbie had some tremendous at-bats, picked up two singles, added an RBI and flew out to the warning track in center.

And Andre Lipcius , who hit .286 in 13 games in Detroit in 2023, picked up an RBI.

"He's got himself in good shape," manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. "He's been a reliable baseball player and that has value."

STARTING AT SECOND? It wasn't a walk in the park, but Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith showed why he'll be special

Starting off

Alex Faedo , who went on the injured list in September with a blister on his middle finger, got the start for the Tigers. After pitching two innings, he looked at his hand outside the Tigers clubhouse. "No blister!" he reported.

So that's the first hurdle.

"He missed some bats," Hinch said. "Other than a couple of lefties, I thought his stuff played up a little bit and had a nice outing."

Faedo struck out three with no walks. But a single by Josh Lowe and a double by Harold Ramirez tied the game, 1-1. And Yu Chang , the Rays' non-roster-invitee shortstop, hit an opposite field homer in the second inning.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Alex Faedo throws in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024.

More: Detroit Tigers 2024 roster prediction 3.0: Are the 13 position players already locked in?

"I feel happy with where my stuff is," Faedo said. "I felt confident and comfortable on the mound. I was able to get to two innings, which in the past, your first time going two innings, coming back from rehabbing, in that second inning you feel kinda crappy. I felt like 100% fresh, so that was really reassuring."

And Keider Montero was impressive, throwing two scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out one.

"He's a hard guy to read," Hinch said. "He's super calm under pressure. He has four weapons. He can do a lot of things with the ball and you know he can pitch, so it's a great combo to have stuff and execution."

The one oddity? Kameron Misner hit an inside the park home run for the Rays when a pop-up landed between four Tigers and it got kicked into the outfield .

"It's just randomness of spring training," Hinch said. "High sky, a lot of guys playing for the first time and then I think, unlucky when somebody kicked it."

Wilmer Flores gave up four earned runs and Calvin Coker gave up two.

At the plate

The Tigers came out swinging.

The Tigers want Malloy to be more aggressive at the plate, and he was certainly that on Sunday. In the first, Malloy swung on a 3-0 count and singled over short. In the third inning, he crushed a first-pitch fastball to right-center.

"He has an incredible routine," Hinch said before the game. "If anything, offensively, he can take his shot a little bit more often."

And that's what he did.

"He can do a ton of damage when he brings it in the strike zone and he brings it in the strike zone a lot so it is nice to see him get aggressive early," Hinch said. "When he gets success like that, he won't become a free-swinger. It's just not in his DNA."

Zach McKinstry , who is also fighting for a spot on the bench, did a little bit of everything. He crushed a ball to deep left-center for a ground-rule double.

McKinstry also made a fine play at third base — against an old Tiger, Isaac Paredes — to end a Rays rally in the first inning.

And he had a walk in the third inning.

Eddys Leonard , picked up in a trade deadline deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers last season , played short and showed tremendous range to his left, throwing out Osleivis Basabe at first. He also showed off his bat Saturday in the first game of spring, driving in the final two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded double to finish 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

"Super-fun personality," Hinch said. "I asked him of all the positions that he's played, what's his favorite position? And he said 'lineup' and he meant it."

Finally, Carson Kelly had a fantastic day at the plate. In the third inning, he hit an RBI single and he slammed a two-run homer to left in the fourth.

"McKinstry had good at bats," Hinch said. "Kelly had a really good day at the plate, so the beginning of the game, our bats were pretty good."

Detroit Tigers Carson Kelly (15) celebrates with Ryan Village after his 2-run home run in the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024.

Three stars

1. Malloy; 2. Kelly; 3. McKinstry.

Next up

Monday vs. Houston Astros at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.

C ontact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers aggressive early in 9-9 spring training tie with Rays

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: