The Detroit Tigers made another change to Kevin McGonigle before Thursday’s game.
McGonigle moved back to shortstop on Wednesday, and a day after going 0-for-4 and playing shortstop, he’s now playing third base on Thursday.
The rookie infielder is also once again leading off as the Tigers’ lineup on Thursday is as follows:
- K. McGonigle 3B
- G. Torres 2B
- D. Dingler C
- R. Greene LF
- C. Keith DH
- S. Torkelson 1B
- M. Clark CF
- J. Báez SS
- Z. McKinstry RF
Javier Baez playing shortstop has shifted McGonigle to third base, which is a position he has played frequently this season.
McGonigle was selected 37th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school, and he made his MLB debut this season. He’s been a major bright spot for the Tigers this season and was named to the All-Star Game this year.
McGonigle is hitting .282 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs this season.
Tigers Looking for Series Win
Detroit is coming off a 4-2 loss to the Mariners on Wednesday, losing the second game of the three-game series. The Tigers will look for the series win on Thursday in the series finale.
In the 4-2 loss on Wednesday, the benches cleared after five hit-by-pitches and two ejections.
“I think the back-to-back pitches in a weird spot to Gleyber, one of them smoking him, created a lot of emotions,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We all end up on the field, umpires met and deemed it intentional enough to throw him out. I know it came right after Cal got smoked, which is what makes it a little uncomfortable for everybody.”
Tigers catcher Eduardo Valencia, meanwhile, said Detroit wasn’t throwing at Cal Raleigh, but Seattle took exception to it.
We’re trying to throw up and in all series to Cal. We don’t try to hit anybody,” Valencia said. “De Jesus is trying to do his job, trying to get outs. He just missed the ball, and that’s it. We don’t try to hit anybody.”
The Tigers are 55-59.
Detroit Still Hopeful to Win
Although the Tigers were sellers at the trade deadline by dealing Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, the team is still hopeful to win.
Detroit is in the Wild Card race, and president of baseball operations Scott Harris believes they have the talent to make a run.
“This is still the organization and we still have a lot of the same players that in 2024 completely flipped the script,” Harris said. “The Gritty Tigs got hot in August and they completely flipped the script of the season.
“Our record right now does not define us, does not define ultimately what this season will tell us about this group. There’s still a lot I really like about this team. I think you’ve seen it over the past few weeks. We’ve made some internal additions that have made us more athletic. Our at-bat quality has gotten a lot better. We are riding some real momentum. There’s some young starters that are coming into their own in our rotation right now that are making our future really bright but also making our present really bright.”
Detroit is 1.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
Tigers Make Another Kevin McGonigle Change During Mariners Series