Dillon Dingler homers, doubles in loss to Cubs

He’s the first Tigers catcher to hit 25 homers since Mickey Tettleton did it three straight years from 1991-93. Dingler’s homer came after Gleyber Torres was intentionally plunked by Gabe Speier and gave the Tigers their only runs in a 4-2 loss. Dingler has three homers in his last five games and is batting .333/.407/.625 with six homers in the 18 games since the All-Star break.

Dingler broke the game open in the eighth inning, capping off a seven-run rally with a 411-foot (100.2-mph EV) grand slam off of Luis Morales. He also singled in the third inning. With his two-hit attack, the All-Star backstop is now slashing .269/.333/.520 with 23 homers and 72 RBI.

Dingler strolled to the dish with a man on second base and two outs in the eighth inning with the score knotted up at three runs apiece. The All-Star backstop fell behind 1-2 against Steven Cruz before lining a slider into the left field corner to plate Hao-Yu Lee with the go-ahead run. Dingler also singled, drew a walk and scored in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-3. He’s having an exceptional season at the dish, slashing .274/.339/.537 with 22 homers and 66 RBI in 391 plate appearances.

Dingler now has 21 home runs this season. He hit a solo shot off Jameson Taillon in the first inning and another solo shot off Tyler Ferguson in the eighth inning. Dingler had been 2-for-10 with no walks and three strikeouts in three games since the All-Star break entering Monday. He’s hitting .268 with an .856 OPS and 63 RBI.

Dingler is back at DH following a two-game absence due to right hand soreness. It’s an extremely encouraging development for the Tigers that he managed to avoid serious injury. All signs point to him being ready to play in next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Tigers took it easy on Dingler heading into the All-Star break, so we wouldn’t be stunned if he misses this weekend series. Jake Rogers is taking over at catcher and batting ninth against the Phillies tonight.

The good news is that the All-Star backstop is not dealing with any fractures after being struck on the hand by a foul tip during Wednesday’s game. The Tigers did add an extra catcher to the roster on Thursday to help add depth behind the plate, but Dingler wasn’t placed on the injured list which is very encouraging. He’s considered day-to-day.

Dingler will undergo additional imaging out of an abundance of caution to rule out any structural issues, but it seems like he managed to avoid a worst-case scenario after taking a foul tip off his right hand during Wednesday’s contest against the Athletics. The 27-year-old All-Star backstop is day-to-day for now. There should be additional updates on his status leading into Thursday’s series finale.

Dingler is likely headed for X-rays to rule out any potential fractures after taking a foul tip off his right hand behind the plate during the early stages of Wednesday’s game at Comerica Park. He finished 1-for-1 with a run scored prior to leaving the contest in the second inning. Clearly, the Tigers weren’t going to take any chances by letting him continue. There should be a definitive update on his status following the contest. The 27-year-old was named to the American League’s roster for next week’s Midsummer Classic, his first All-Star Game selection.

Dingler’s hot month of June continued Monday. He doubled and scored in the first inning, had a sacrifice fly in the second inning and scored another run in the fourth inning. Dingler is 33-for-100 (.330) with eight home runs, 25 RBI and 21 runs scored in 25 games in June. He’s hitting .262 with an .854 OPS and 59 RBI on the season.