Detroit, MI
Aggressive Justyn-Henry Malloy drives Detroit Tigers to 9-9 tie with Tampa Bay Rays
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers tied the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-9, at Charlotte Sports Park on Sunday in their first road game of the 2024 Grapefruit League season.
The Tigers built a 9-3 lead in the seventh inning, but the Rays came back after the Tigers emptied their bench. Tampa Bay tied it with a couple of homers — including an inside-the-park shot off a bloop hit — and three doubles, scoring six unanswered runs.
There were 5,130 in attendance.
What happened
Despite letting a victory slip away, the Tigers’ youngsters made a statement on Sunday afternoon.
Justyn-Henry Malloy, who is fighting for a bench spot, came out aggressive at the plate — a change the Tigers want — and he picked up a pair of hits, including a homer.
FIGHTING FOR SPOTS: Detroit Tigers 2024 roster prediction 3.0: Are the 13 position players already locked in?
Justice Bigbie, a former 19th-round pick and one of the most intriguing players in camp because of how he has soared through the system, got his first Grapefruit League start in left field. Bigbie had some tremendous at-bats, picked up two singles, added an RBI and flew out to the warning track in center.
And Andre Lipcius, who hit .286 in 13 games in Detroit in 2023, picked up an RBI.
“He’s got himself in good shape,” manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. “He’s been a reliable baseball player and that has value.”
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Starting off
Alex Faedo, who went on the injured list in September with a blister on his middle finger, got the start for the Tigers. After pitching two innings, he looked at his hand outside the Tigers clubhouse. “No blister!” he reported.
So that’s the first hurdle.
Faedo struck out three with no walks. But a single by Josh Lowe and a double by Harold Ramirez tied the game, 1-1. And Yu Chang, the Rays’ non-roster-invitee shortstop, hit an opposite field homer in the second inning.
More: Detroit Tigers 2024 roster prediction 3.0: Are the 13 position players already locked in?
“I feel happy with where my stuff is,” Faedo said. “I felt confident and comfortable on the mound. I was able to get to two innings, which in the past, your first time going two innings, coming back from rehabbing, in that second inning you feel kinda crappy. I felt like 100% fresh, so that was really reassuring.”
And Keider Montero was impressive, throwing two scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out one.
The one oddity? Kameron Misner hit an inside the park home run for the Rays when a pop-up landed between four Tigers and it got kicked into the outfield.
Wilmer Flores gave up four earned runs and Calvin Coker gave up two.
At the plate
The Tigers came out swinging.
The Tigers want Malloy to be more aggressive at the plate, and he was certainly that on Sunday. In the first, Malloy swung on a 3-0 count and singled over short. In the third inning, he crushed a first-pitch fastball to right-center.
“He has an incredible routine,” Hinch said before the game. “If anything, offensively, he can take his shot a little bit more often.”
And that’s what he did.
Zach McKinstry, who is also fighting for a spot on the bench, did a little bit of everything. He crushed a ball to deep left-center for a ground-rule double.
McKinstry also made a fine play at third base — against an old Tiger, Isaac Paredes — to end a Rays rally in the first inning.
And he had a walk in the third inning.
Eddys Leonard, picked up in a trade deadline deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, played short and showed tremendous range to his left, throwing out Osleivis Basabe at first. He also showed off his bat Saturday in the first game of spring, driving in the final two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded double to finish 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
“Super fun personality,” Hinch said. “I asked him of all the positions that he’s played, what’s his favorite position? And he said ‘lineup’ and he meant it.”
Finally, Carson Kelly had a fantastic day at the plate. In the third inning, he hit an RBI single and he slammed a two-run homer to left in the fourth.
Three stars
- Malloy, 2. Kelly, 3. McKinstry.
Next up
Monday vs. Houston Astros at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
MORE FROM JEFF SEIDEL: Detroit Tigers are finally playing 2024 games: 10 reasons why they might be fun to watch
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
After getting absolutely annihilated in his previous start on Monday in Minnesota to the tune of 11 runs in just 1.2 innings, Garrett Crochet is set to retake the mound today and convince us all that everything will be fine as far as he and his health are concerned.
Unfortunately, he won’t just be battling the Tigers. Mother Nature is once again destined to play a roll in today’s match up, and here’s how the radar looks inside of an hour from first pitch:
The good news is the initial batch of heavier precipitation has moved out and east of Boston, but more unsettled weather still lurks to the west ahead of a slow moving front. That mess will push through eastern Massachusetts over the next several hours, filling in the current dry slot. While this incoming precipitation won’t be as heavy as what fell at times earlier today, it will come attached with colder and windier conditions, so a miserable weather game lies ahead (if they even try and play through it at all — The Yankees did not and waited around for three hours before starting their game against the Royals at 4:20pm). The other option will be to just wait until after sunset when it will be dryer, but still very cold and windy.
When they do get started, today’s lineup includes Roman Anthony leading off in leftfield, Andruw Monasterio at first base, and Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Marcelo Mayer all starting on the bench with an opposing left-handed starter on the mound in Framber Valdez for Detroit.
OTM’s own pitching guru Jacob Roy will be around later to handle the postgame wrap and tell us if we should should be freaking out or breathing a sigh a relief when it comes to Crochet.
The Pistons have made recent moves to add more shooting, but still don’t have anyone quite as lethal as former Detroit guard Luke Kennard. On Saturday night, Kennard had a brilliant start to his postseason with 27 uber-efficient points for the Lakers in a win against the Rockets. His level of 3-point accuracy is something the Pistons have desperately been seeking all season long to bolster their offense.
Luke Kennard’s shooting makes him a dangerous playoff performer
Kennard was originally drafted to Detroit with the 17th pick of the 2017 Draft. The Pistons have plenty of draft regrets from that general era of team history, but picking Kennard has never been one of them. Despite any other weaknesses he may have, his strength as a shooter has always been enough to offset them.
In terms of pure 3-point percentage, Kennard is one of the best shooters in NBA history. He averages 44% behind the arc for his career, and shot a blistering 48% this season – the best mark in the league. Given his incredible track record, it’s not exactly a shocker to see him shoot 5-of-5 from three en route to 27 points in Game 1.
Not only is Kennard obviously an excellent standstill shooter, but he’s also a master of getting himself open with his movement. On Saturday night, he was able to play off LeBron James perfectly for a few easy looks. After that, he caught enough of a rhythm to create 3-point looks for himself, even in transition.
A player like Kennard is easily capable of turning an entire playoff game when he gets hot. In a close series, that one game where Kennard hits several threes can be all the difference his team needs to advance. If the Lakers do manage to win this series, even without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves, Kennard’s shooting will be a major reason why.
The Pistons could use someone like Kennard
Kennard would be a perfect marginal addition for the Pistons that only makes them better without taking anything away from the team. To be fair, the Pistons do have two shooters who have been hot recently in Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter. But having more than one respected shooter on the court at a time is often necessary to maintain a solid offense in today’s NBA.
Given the Pistons’ current lack of shooting, any additional shooters are welcome. And Kennard is understandably one of the most feared shooters in the league, capable of bending defenses just by the threat of him taking a three. Rolling him out on the Pistons would surely open up more lanes for Detroit’s stars to attack the paint and score easier points.
Follow
A Detroit woman was arrested in the aftermath of a hit-and-run collision and shooting on Interstate 94, Michigan State Police reported.
Emergency dispatchers were called shortly after midnight Saturday about the altercation. Troopers reported the caller said while they were driving eastbound on I-94, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a black Jeep sideswiped them and sped off.
The caller then decided to follow the Jeep.
In response, police said, the driver of the Jeep fired several gunshots in the caller’s direction.
None of the gunshots struck the vehicle.
Troopers were able to use license plate reader camera technology to locate the Jeep while it was on the Lodge Freeway, made a traffic stop. The driver and two passengers were taken into custody without incident.
The passengers were released shortly afterwards; troopers believe that the 19-year-old driver was the shooter. She has been lodged pending further review by the prosecutor’s office.
In addition, a firearm was recovered from the vehicle.
The above video originally aired on Aug. 19, 2025.
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