Riley Greene tallies three hits, homers vs. Twins

It’s surprising to see Greene on the bench with Washington rolling out a bullpen game, but he’s played pretty much every contest since returning from the injured list earlier this month. He’s hitting .347 (26-for-75) with five homers and 21 RBI since September 1. It’ll be Javier Báez in left field on Tuesday night.

Greene got the Tigers on the board with a 365-foot (101.7-mph EV) opposite-field two-run shot in the home half of the first inning, putting the Tigers ahead to stay. He also added an RBI single in the fourth inning. He has been sizzling at the dish since his return from the injured list and is now slashing .283/.370/.484 with 20 homers and 71 RBI in 540 plate appearances on the season.

Greene broke a 1-1 tie with his RBI triple in the sixth inning. He then rode home on Dillon Dingler’s two-run blast. He then added on with a run-scoring double in the eighth inning that made it a 6-1 ballgame. With his three-hit attack, the 25-year-old outfielder is slashing a healthy .279/.369/.478 with 19 long balls, 67 RBI and three stolen bases in 531 plate appearances.

After a hot weekend at the plate in Cleveland, Greene is 7-for-22 (.318) with two home runs, four doubles and eight RBI in five games so far in September. He’s hitting.275 with an .831 OPS and 62 RBI, but is looking to finish the season on a high note.

Greene was basically the entire Tigers’ offense in this one. He tagged Guardians’ southpaw Parker Messick for an opposite-field 407-foot (106.9-mph EV) solo shot to open the scoring in the first inning. He then added to that lead with an RBI single in the third before crushing a 421-foot (108.9-mph EV) solo shot to left-center in the sixth that made it a 3-0 game. Greene also added an RBI double in the seventh and scored on Ben Malgeri’s RBI single. With his four-hit night, the 25-year-old All-Star outfielder is hitting .273/.364/.461 with 18 homers and 60 RBI across 511 plate appearances on the season.

The Tigers could have DH’d either Greene or Dingler, but it’s Hao-Yu Lee in that spot after he played second base in the first game today. Greene just came off the IL on Tuesday, so two games in a day probably isn’t appropriate right now. Dingler is struggling mightily at the plate, so he’s DH’d just once in the last few weeks.

Greene is back in left field and hitting cleanup following a three-week absence due to a hamstring strain. The timing was extremely unfortunate for Detroit since they went into a tailspin without their primary middle-of-the-order threat for a couple weeks. His return is a nice bonus for fantasy managers heading into the playoffs, especially since he gets to fae Minnesota and Cleveland right out of the gate.

The Tigers are going to give Greene a day off to rest and recover after playing in a pair of minor league rehab contests for Triple-A Toledo over the weekend. He’s been on the shelf with a hamstring strain since early August. He’ll return to the heart of Detroit’s lineup once rosters expand this week.

Greene played left field today after DHing on Saturday. Expectations are that he’ll come off the injured list and rejoin the Tigers lineup when rosters expand on Tuesday.

It sounds like there’s a decent chance that Greene is back for Monday’s series opener against the division-rival Twins. The 25-year-old run-producer has been on the shelf with a hamstring strain since early August. He’ll get in a pair of minor league contests over the weekend before the Tigers make a decision on his next steps. They could certainly use his formidable bat back in the middle of their lineup.