Hao-Yu

Lee

The 29-year-old second baseman may have been dealing with an underlying injury issue as he was used sparsely down the stretch and wound up sitting the final four games of the season. Once again, Hao-Yu Lee will start in his place at second base and bat second for the Tigers against Pirates’ right-hander Jared Jones on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Torres continues to see plenty of time off down the stretch, sitting in his second straight game on Friday night while Hao-Yu Lee serves as the team’s second baseman. The impending free agent has hit a respectable .260/.364/.363 with just eight homers and 38 RBI in 420 plate appearances on the season.

The Tigers faced an early 8-2 deficit after three innings in this one, but they slowly grinded their way back into the game. Lee smacked an RBI double in the eighth inning that pulled them to within two runs at 8-6. He then clobbered an opposite-field, 362-foot, game-tying two-run shot off of Sean Newcomb in the eighth. He has impressed at the dish in his rookie campaign, slashing .264/.320/.432 with 10 homers and 45 RBI in 326 plate appearances.

The Tigers have been giving more of the playing time at second base to Hao-Yu Lee down the stretch as Torres is an impending free agent and they want to see what some of their younger players can do. The 29-year-old has started just twice in the last five games now and is likely to continue to see sporadic playing time over the final week and a half of the 2026 campaign.

With Kevin McGonigle back at third base, Hao-Yu Lee was shifted back to second base, and Torres is on the bench. It seems like the 29-year-old will not be guaranteed playing time down the stretch.

Lee’s home run was his ninth of the season. He hit a solo shot off Blue Jays reliever Joe Mantiply in the ninth inning. Lee has five RBI, two doubles and two home runs over his last four games. He’s hitting .258 with a .734 OPS and 42 RBI in 104 games as a rookie this year.

Keith takes a seat for the second consecutive game after being scratched from Monday’s lineup with left thumb soreness. It’ll be Hao-Yu Lee taking over at the hot corner once again in his absence.

Hao-Yu Lee takes over at second base with Keith heading to the bench. It’s a bit unclear how much of a concern the issue is at the moment. An update on his status should be available postgame.

Torres has ceded a considerable amount of playing time to youngster Hao-Yu Lee recently, starting just four of Detroit’s last 12 contests at second base. He’s back at the keystone and hitting second against Blue Jays righty José Soriano in this one.

It’s the third time in the past four games that Torres has found himself on the bench, which could mean that he’s battling a minor injury issue. Hao-Yu Lee will start in his place at second base and will bat second for the Tigers against right-hander Gabriel Hughes.