Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers’ Parker Meadows confident in timing of swing in return from injured list
What to know about new Detroit Tigers prospects in Jack Flaherty trade
Chris Clegg, founder of The Dynasty Dugout, breaks down who the Detroit Tigers received by trading Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows is back in action.
The 24-year-old was slated to start Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park, his first game for the Tigers since July 7. The Tigers activated him from the injured list following the completion of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.
Meadows has fully recovered from a right hamstring strain.
“It feels great,” Meadows said. “It feels like it’s been a long time, but I’m glad to be back.”
LAST NIGHT: Why Tigers’ Tarik Skubal didn’t get to face Bobby Witt Jr. in 7th inning
Meadows completed four games in his rehab assignment.
“We’re excited to get him back,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’ll probably give him the day game off, and we’ll ease him into the more everyday role. … It’s nice to see him walk through the door and be ready to play.”
He hit .214 (3-for-14) with two walks and three strikeouts in four games, playing two of four games in center field. He gained trust in his legs over those four games.
“It’s hard to get past that,” Meadows said. “Once I made those first couple of steps full sprint, I realized I was good to go and felt good.”
NEW KIDS: Breaking down ‘haul of young talent’ acquired by Tigers at 2024 trade deadline
Now that Meadows is back, he hopes to build upon a successful three games from early July. Remember, the Tigers recalled Meadows from Triple-A Toledo, but in his third game, he suffered the hamstring injury while trying to steal second base.
Meadows credited an adjustment to his swing mechanics and a fix to the timing of his swing for his three-game success, in which he hit .364 (4-for-11) with one home run, one walk and two home runs against the Cincinnati Reds.
“Obviously, it’s a little hard not seeing live pitching for however long it was,” Meadows said, when asked about the timing of his swing. “It’s part of the game. I’m going to keep the same confidence.”
Casey Mize ahead of Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene?
Right-hander Casey Mize (left hamstring strain), outfielder Kerry Carpenter (lumbar spine stress fracture) and outfielder Riley Greene (right hamstring strain) participated in a live batting practice session before Saturday’s game at Comerica Park.
Mize simulated two innings.
“I didn’t think about the leg at all,” Greene said. “Felt good, felt normal.”
ONE OF TWO STARTERS: Tigers’ Keider Montero throws new pitch as development continues in rookie year
Carpenter, who hasn’t played in a game since May 26, needs to complete base-running drills Sunday, but he sounded like he expected to start a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday.
“It’s a probably,” Carpenter said. “If the baserunning goes well, and I think it will, then I’ll be good. … I’m excited to be back out there. That would be amazing. I miss it.”
Hinch, though, explained that Mize is ahead of Carpenter and Greene in the rehab assignment process, which is surprising because Mize — whom the Tigers recently transferred to the 60-day injured list — isn’t eligible to return to the Tigers until Aug. 30.
The Tigers certainly won’t have Mize make five rehab starts in return from a hamstring strain, will they?
“He’ll be first to get challenged a little bit more depending how he comes out of it,” Hinch said of Mize. “The sun is starting to shine a little bit with these guys, where they can get out to a rehab at some point, but they’re not all going to be on the same timeline. Casey is probably, from a decision standpoint, a little faster than the others.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Detroit, MI
EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was wrong to determine Michigan met federal health and environmental standards for ozone pollution or smog in the Detroit area in 2023, a federal appeals court judge has ruled.
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Helene White on Dec. 5 issued a split decision in a case about how environmental regulators measured Detroit air quality in 2022, when wildfire smoke drifted over Detroit and affected the air quality monitor readings for a few days in June.
Michigan considered those days “exceptional events” because of the wildfire smoke and didn’t include the high ozone pollution readings in its calculation to the EPA.
With those days tossed, the state was able to argue in 2023 that Michigan met federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution. The seven-county Metro Detroit region had previously been out of compliance with the ozone standards.
The Sierra Club sued, arguing the wildfire smoke did not meaningfully change ozone readings and that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy failed to analyze how local pollution sources contributed to the ozone levels on those days. The environmental advocacy group also challenged the EPA’s finding that the region met federal standards for ozone pollution.
White determined the exceptional events designation was appropriate, siding against the Sierra Club in deciding the EPA and EGLE correctly analyzed the smoke’s impact on ozone readings in June 2022.
She sided against EPA in deciding the EPA was wrong to put Michigan back into attainment for ground-level ozone without Michigan adopting control measures that would cut volatile organic compounds, which contribute to ozone pollution.
EPA determined the Detroit area was out of attainment for ground-level ozone on April 13, 2022. Michigan regulators did not impose control technologies for ozone-causing pollutants by the deadline in early 2023. Instead, they asked EPA to redesignate the area as in attainment with the air quality rules.
Michigan was obligated to implement control technologies even though it had submitted a redesignation request, White said in her order. Control technologies include efforts to reduce volatile organic compounds from being released from manufacturing plants and industrial sources, according to EPA documents.
Sierra Club member and Detroit environmental justice activist Dolores Leonard cheered the outcome of the case.
“Without this victory, EPA’s decisions would have let Michigan avoid the rules needed to reduce pollution and keep the air we breathe safe,” Leonard said. “At a time when asthma rates are rising in Detroit, especially in Black communities, that’s unacceptable. With the backing of this federal court decision, our community will continue to push the state of Michigan to take much-needed action to relieve ozone pollution in this area.”
The Clean Air Act requires those pollution control measures to be implemented even after the EPA puts an area back into attainment to ensure the air quality remains healthy, said Nick Leonard, executive director of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which argued the Sierra Club’s case.
White’s order means the EGLE will have to reapply for the attainment of the ozone standard, Leonard said.
“At the very least, I would say they have to correct the legal deficiency, which was that they didn’t enact the pollution control rules that are typically required for areas that are in non-attainment for this long,” he said.
The EPA is reviewing the decision, its press office said. The office did not respond to a question about whether it would ask Michigan to adopt volatile organic compound control measures as a result of White’s decision.
The EGLE also is reviewing the ruling, spokesman Dale George said.
“While EGLE was not a party to the case and is not able to speak in detail about the legal outcome, we were encouraged that the court supported the use of exceptional events demonstrations and acknowledged the sound science behind EGLE’s determination that the Detroit area met the health-based ozone standard,” George said.
Leonard said he was disappointed but not surprised that White ruled against the Sierra Club’s arguments that EGLE and the EPA did not correctly account for wildfire smoke’s impact on ozone readings in 2022.
That issue is going to plague communities as climate change causes northern wildfires to become more common and kick smoke into Michigan, he predicted.
“If we start to essentially cut out bad air quality days because of the claim they were partially influenced by wildfire smoke … , you create this disconnect between the regulatory systems that are meant to protect people and the actual air pollution that people are breathing,” Leonard said.
ckthompson@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Active saves leader Jansen joining Tigers on 1-year deal (sources)
The deal, which is pending a physical and has not been confirmed
Detroit, MI
Detroit-area teen charged in carjacking at Applebee’s restaurant bound over to circuit court
A 15-year-old boy who is accused of carjacking a woman last month at an Applebee’s in Roseville, Michigan, is heading to circuit court after waiving his preliminary examination, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
The teen is charged with one count of carjacking, third-degree fleeing a police officer, two counts of malicious destruction of personal property, assault with a dangerous weapon, assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, operating without a license and failure to stop after a collision.
The teen appeared for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 10 and waived his right to a preliminary examination. He will be arraigned on Jan. 5, 2026.
He remains in at the Macomb County Juvenile Center under a $250,000 cash/surety bond. If he posts bond, he is ordered to wear a GPS tether, be restricted to his mother’s house and have no contact with the victim, witnesses or Applebee’s.
Prosecutors allege that on Nov. 24, 2025, the teen forcibly took a woman’s 2016 Jeep Patriot in the restaurant’s parking lot. The teen took off in the vehicle and crashed it on Gratiot Avenue.
“The allegations and charges in this matter are serious. Carjacking is a violent offense that carries life-altering consequences for victims and offenders alike,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement. “To the young people of Macomb County, understand that the choices you make today will determine the path available to you tomorrow. We want every youth in this community to succeed, but that starts with stepping away from dangerous decisions before they lead to irreversible outcomes.”
-
Alaska1 week agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Texas1 week agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Washington5 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa7 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL1 week agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Cleveland, OH7 days agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
World7 days ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans
-
Iowa23 hours agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals