The Detroit Tigers secured a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night to even the series at one game apiece heading into Wednesday’s rubber match.
Ahead of the matchup, which will feature Tigers ace Troy Melton against Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch made some notable lineup changes, including one involving rookie outfielder Max Clark.
Tigers Announce Clark Change
Clark hit his second major league home run Tuesday in his 23rd MLB game, and now he’ll move up one spot in the batting order with Javier Baez out of the starting lineup.
Clark hit ninth behind Baez on Tuesday, but he’ll bat eighth Wednesday while starting in center field for the series finale.
Since the Tigers called him up, Clark has spent most of his time hitting in the bottom two spots of the order. He’ll bat eighth Wednesday, while Hao-Yu Lee moves into the ninth spot and starts at third base.
Via Underdog MLB: “Tigers 8/26 B. Callahan LF K. McGonigle SS G. Torres 2B C. Keith DH D. Dingler C Z. McKinstry RF S. Torkelson 1B M. Clark CF H. Lee 3B T. Melton SP.”
Tigers 8/26
B. Callahan LF
K. McGonigle SS
G. Torres 2B
C. Keith DH
D. Dingler C
Z. McKinstry RF
S. Torkelson 1B
M. Clark CF
H. Lee 3BT. Melton SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 26, 2026
Clark’s 2026 Season
Through 23 games, Clark has made a strong first impression both at the plate and defensively.
He’s batting .247 across 85 at-bats with 11 runs, 21 hits, two home runs and 12 RBIs. He’s also drawn six walks while slugging .400 with a .704 OPS.
Tigers Right Now
Detroit has endured a brutal stretch of games and enters Wednesday with a 62-70 record. However, in a surprisingly weak American League this season, the Tigers remain firmly in the Wild Card hunt.
They’re currently 7.0 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central but sit just 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
Detroit Tigers Announce Max Clark Change During Rays Series