Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers OF/3B Matt Vierling returns from injured list; Sean Guenther optioned
Detroit Tigers’ Matt Vierling explains why he drives 2012 Ford Escape
Detroit Tigers player Matt Vierling reveals on the “Days of Roar” podcast that he drives a 2012 Ford Escape — and why he won’t buy a new car.
At last, Matt Vierling has arrived.
The Detroit Tigers activated Vierling — an outfielder/third baseman on the field and a team leader behind the scenes — from the injured list ahead of their Friday, May 23, game against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park. He wasn’t in the starting lineup, but he’s available as a pinch-hitter off the bench.
The 28-year-old had been sidelined since Feb. 23 — the second game of spring training — with a strained rotator cuff in his right shoulder. In total, Vierling missed 51 games this season.
But now, he’s finally back.
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To create room for Vierling, the Tigers optioned left-handed reliever Sean Guenther to Triple-A Toledo. On May 24, the Tigers are expected to activate right-hander Casey Mize to start, which will lead to the demotion of a position player.
Vierling has been a mainstay for the Tigers the past two seasons.
He had the best results of his four-year MLB career in the 2024 campaign, hitting .257 with 16 home runs, 41 walks and 121 strikeouts in 144 games. He plays all three outfield positions and third base, but he performs best in center field and right field.
Returning to the Tigers, Vierling projects to play right field and third base, with ex-infielder Javier Báez expected to continue roaming center field until Parker Meadows is activated from the injured list within the next three weeks.
Meadows — who has been sidelined since Feb. 22 with a right upper arm nerve issue — started his rehab assignment May 20, which began his 20-day rehab clock.
He must be activated by June 9.
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As for Vierling, he played 11 games on his rehab assignment. He hit .206 with two home runs, nine walks and 14 strikeouts in43 plate appearances. He spent five games at designated hitter, three games at third base for 21 innings, two games in right for 13 innings and one game in center for nine innings.
The Tigers took their time with Vierling’s rehab assignment to ensure the rotator cuff strain in his right shoulder wouldn’t resurface with throws from different angles.
It took 19 days, but Vierling eventually checked all the boxes.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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Detroit, MI
Retired Detroit sergeant faces new sexual assault charge involving 14-year-old victim from 2002
An additional case, this one involving a victim who was then 14 years old, has been added to the sexual assault investigation against a former Detroit Police Department sergeant.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the latest charges on Friday against Benjamin Martin Wagner, 68, who now lives in Greenville, N.C. He had retired from the Detroit Police Department in 2017.
The victim in the additional charges was 14 years old when the assault happened in October 2002 in Detroit, Worthy said. The prosecutor alleges that Wagner approached the victim, pointed a handgun at her, ordered her away from the location and then sexually assaulted her.
In this case, he faces charges of kidnapping, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. An arraignment hearing took place Friday in the 36th District Court in Detroit. A probable cause conference is scheduled for April 7.
The woman is now 37 years old.
“She has lived with what happened to her for 23 years and has now bravely decided that she wants to be a part of holding him accountable,” Worthy said.
Wagner participated in a court hearing Thursday and was remanded to jail, one week after he was charged with 15 counts of kidnapping and rape in five separate sexual assault cases. All of those incidents happened between 1999 and 2003 in the northwest side of Detroit, with the victims being young women between the ages of 15 and 23.
The court dates for the earlier list of charges are April 7 for a probable cause hearing and April 14 for a preliminary exam.
Wagner joined the Detroit Police Department in 1989 as a police officer and was eventually promoted to sergeant. He retired in 2017 and moved to North Carolina.
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Detroit, MI
Fangirl Culture is Front and Center as Detroit Mercy Theatre Company Presents a Zany Y2K Comedy
I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire closes Detroit Mercy’s 55th Season
DETROIT — Detroit Mercy Theatre Company (DMTC) closes the inaugural season of the new Detroit
Mercy Black Box Theatre with I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire by Samantha Hurley, playing April 10-19 on University of Detroit Mercy’s McNichols Campus.
I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire is set in 2004 and follows 14-year-old Shelby Hinkley, who is obsessed with Hollywood star Tobey Maguire and creates a play to kidnap and marry him in her basement.
“This play is as hilarious as it is heartfelt,” said DMTC managing director Sarah Rusk. “Shelby truly believes Tobey Maguire is her destiny, and through her obsession we get a look into the complicated emotions of growing up during the Y2K era.”
“I absolutely love working with young actors,” said director Cassandra Svacha.
“Watching them create and rise to the challenge is thrilling. I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire to college-aged kids is like a period piece; none of them were alive when this story takes place so it’s extra fun to have them dive into this world in an anthropologic way. They aren’t reminiscing or remembering 2004, they have to study that world and build it for themselves.”
I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire runs six performances April 10-19 at the new Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre on University of Detroit Mercy’s McNichols Campus. The DMTC Ticket Office is open Tuesday-Thursday 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., with tickets being available for purchase anytime online at www.DetroitMercyArts.com.
Individual tickets are $25 for adults, $18 for seniors and Detroit Mercy faculty, staff and alumni, and $10 for veterans and students (ages 4-college). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. To schedule your group, contact Sarah Rusk at 313-993-3273.
Those looking to buy tickets should note that the play is rated R and contains adult language and
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