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Wenceel Pérez provides Detroit Tigers something they don’t have without him

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Wenceel Pérez provides Detroit Tigers something they don’t have without him


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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Detroit Tigers expected Wenceel Pérez to be their primary center fielder, relying on him for stability while waiting for fellow outfielders Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling to return from their injuries.

That was the plan — until the final game of the Grapefruit League schedule in spring training, when Pérez reported a back injury. As his teammates boarded a plane, he had to stay behind at the Tigers’ facility in Lakeland, Florida.

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“It was tough because I was trying to get through it,” said Pérez, who has dealt with the same lower back injury multiple in his professional career, beginning in 2022. “It was just getting worse and worse and worse.”

This time, Pérez was sidelined for 65 days.

He returned Tuesday, May 27.

“I’m so excited to play this game again,” Pérez said.

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In his return game, Pérez — starting in center field and batting sixth — hit a solo home run off All-Star right-hander Logan Webb in the second inning of Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park.

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More notably, Pérez hit the homer on his first swing of the 2025 season.

Webb threw him three sinkers in a row. The first two were inside for balls, but the third one stayed in the strike zone, allowing Pérez — a switch-hitter batting from the left side — to turn on it for a solo home run to right field. It was just the fourth homer allowed by Webb this season, spanning 73⅓ innings in 12 starts.

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“I was just thinking to be patient,” Pérez said. “I was trying to come down a little bit. I was a little bit excited. And then I tried to get a good pitch, and that’s what I got. It feels great to be back and help the team out right away.”

To get to that moment, Pérez had to play six games during a rehab assignment: two games for High-A West Michigan, two games for Low-A Lakeland and two games in Triple-A Toledo.

He started in West Michigan because the Tigers had the maximum number of players rehabbing in Toledo, transferred to Lakeland due to weather issues in Toledo and completed his rehab with a normal stint in Toledo.

“That was not a vacation,” Pérez said.

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Pérez, 25, is hitting .308 (4-for-13) in four games since his return to the Tigers.

His switch-hit ability — the Tigers’ lone switch-hitter — provides flexibility in the batting order, as well as allowing rest days for left-handed hitters Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Zach McKinstry. He performs significantly better as a left-handed hitter against right-handed pitchers, but still provides competitive plate appearances from the right side.

Pérez took over as the Tigers’ primary center fielder upon his return, but only until Meadows returns from the injured list, which seems likely to happen Monday, June 2.

“So proud for the kid,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He put in a ton of work. Injuries are hard on everybody, but think about the last game of spring training, and we’re getting on the plane to go to the exhibition game, and he’s got to report that he’s not feeling great. That’s a crushing blow anytime during the spring, but that’s like the most exciting day of the year at that point.”

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Two months later, Pérez rejoined the Tigers with the same joy he has always had. He laughed with teammates in the clubhouse, smiled in pregame warmups, bounced around in the outfield and showed no fear in the batter’s box.

Pérez also made an immediate impact with his first swing.

“The team is doing great,” Pérez said. “It wasn’t good for me (to be on the injured list), but it made me stronger to come back again and play good again.”

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.



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Detroit, MI

Detroit’s Sloppy Chops restaurateur Mike Brown fatally shot, 2 injured

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Detroit’s Sloppy Chops restaurateur Mike Brown fatally shot, 2 injured


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  • Detroit restaurateur Michael “Mike B.” Brown was fatally shot early Saturday morning in a triple shooting.
  • The incident occurred outside a cocktail bar on the city’s west side, and police are seeking information.
  • Brown was a prominent figure in Detroit’s hospitality scene, known for his “Sloppy” brand restaurants.
  • His establishments were seen as significant in the rise of new Black-owned businesses in the city.

Detroit restaurateur and nightlife mainstay Michael “Mike B.” Brown was fatally shot early Saturday morning on the city’s west side, a violent incident that also left two other people injured and sent shockwaves through Detroit’s hospitality and entertainment communities.

According to Detroit police, the shooting occurred outside Suite 100, a cocktail bar on Schaefer Highway near Puritan Avenue. Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward. As of Sunday afternoon, authorities had not announced any suspects or arrests.

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“At approximately 4:30 a.m., Saturday, there was a triple shooting that occurred at 15789 Schaefer,” Detroit Police Department (DPD) media relations manager Jasmin Barmore wrote in an official statement Sunday afternoon. “Two of the vicims were found in front of the location and the third across the street from the location. Unfortunately, the victim found across the street from the location, Mikey Brown, succumbed to his injuries.

“The Detroit Police Department extends their condolences to the family and is asking the community for assistance with this incident. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to please contact DPD’s homicide unit or, they can submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers or Detroit Rewards TV.”

Brown, 52, had spent decades building a name for himself across Detroit’s club and restaurant circuits, evolving from party promoter to business owner and, in recent years, a culinary entrepreneur with expanding ambitions. His death comes at a moment when he had been working to grow his “Sloppy” restaurant brand – a move that aligned with the rise of new Black-owned establishments reshaping the city’s dining landscape.

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His first major restaurant venture, Sloppy Chops, opened in 2020 on West McNichols just off the Lodge Freeway. The steakhouse featured high-end cuts like ribeyes and tomahawks, but it quickly drew wide attention for its low-cost lamb chop specials – a dish with a fervent local following and long-standing ties to the city’s food culture.

A year later, Brown launched Sloppy Crab, later renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. The seafood spot mixed Detroiters’ love for crab dishes with the energetic, nightlife-forward atmosphere Brown had refined during his years in the entertainment scene. Occasional cover charges, signature strong cocktails and celebrity drop-ins helped make the venue one of downtown’s most animated destinations, placing it alongside longstanding nightlife pillars such as Floods Bar & Grille and Sweetwater Tavern.

Both restaurants emerged during a period when Detroiters were increasingly vocal about who new development served. Sloppy Crab’s proximity to the riverfront offered an answer to residents who wondered where Black diners fit into the city’s transforming downtown, while Sloppy Chops demonstrated that restaurants with the energy and polish of downtown destinations could thrive in the neighborhoods as well.

As of Sunday afternoon, more than 1,000 comments expressing sadness and shock had flooded a pinned post on Brown’s Instagram page, along with a number of posts on his Facebook profile.

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On her own page, Darralynn Hutson, an award-winning journalist, author, documentarian and media strategist who has provided content to a host of media outlets including the Detroit Free Press, shared photos of herself with Brown.

“I had the opportunity to interview Mike a few years ago for a feature in Food & Wine and I remember how reluctant he was about sitting down to talk,” Hutson recalled. “Interviews weren’t his thing – he was much more comfortable building than explaining. I had to call him more than 20 times to set up the interview. He didn’t care about Food & Wine. But once we ate and got into conversation, what came out was his commitment to creating something for his Detroit.”

Brown’s influence stretched far beyond his menus. His establishments became recognizable gathering places, and his presence – familiar from downtown corridors to Dexter Avenue – made him a significant cultural figure in Detroit’s nightlife and, later, its dining renaissance.

His death leaves both industries mourning a personality whose ambitions were still growing, and whose imprint on the city’s social fabric remains unmistakable.





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RECAP: Detroit’s lack of execution results in 5-2 loss at Carolina | Detroit Red Wings

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RECAP: Detroit’s lack of execution results in 5-2 loss at Carolina  | Detroit Red Wings


RALEIGH, N.C. – Wrapping up the February portion of their 2025-26 regular-season schedule, the Detroit Red Wings unfortunately spent most of their Saturday night playing catch-up in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.

“They’re a heck of a team,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “This is a hard building to play in…They’re the class of the East, and you got to come in here at some point and get points. I just didn’t think we executed. We allowed them to be on top of us and come back in waves on Talbs.”

Goalie Cam Talbot made 30 saves in his first start since Jan. 22 for the Red Wings (34-20-6; 74 points), who moved to 11-5-2 on the road since Dec. 6. Meanwhile, turning aside 27 shots netminder Frederik Andersen helped the Hurricanes (38-15-6; 82 points) win their fifth straight game and extend their point streak to 12.

“We’re leaving without points, so that’s real disappointing,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought that the game was real fast to begin with. There was a lot of pace going both ways. It was a good game for us to play in. A lot of their offensive opportunities came off of basically our tape…[Carolina] really took advantage of our mistakes.”

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Detroit held steady against Carolina’s characteristically heavy, initial 10-minute push in the opening frame, but the leaders of the Metropolitan Division went up 1-0 when Taylor Hall blocked Simon Edvinsson’s shot attempt in their defensive zone and proceeded to score on a breakaway at 14:05.  Then with eight seconds left in the period, while the hosts were on the man advantage, Sebastian Aho’s shot from the left face-off circle deflected off Edvinsson’s stick down low and into the back of the net to extend their lead to 2-0.

“They come out flying and shoot a lot of pucks,” Larkin said. “You can’t really pay attention to the shot clock because they fire it from everywhere, but I liked our start. It’s just that we had some times where we didn’t execute, and they score with eight seconds left. That’s a tough one, but we responded well. We won the second period.”

The Hurricanes struck again just 2:52 into that second period, as Eric Robinson jammed a wrist shot from the top of the crease to push ahead 3-0. But in a span of just 47 seconds late in the stanza, the Red Wings beat Andersen twice to put the hosts on their heels and make it a one-goal game going into the second intermission.



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Teenager injured in shooting near Detroit school, police say

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Teenager injured in shooting near Detroit school, police say



A teenage male is recovering and police are investigating after a shooting near a school on the east side of Detroit on Friday night.

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According to police, the incident happened at 8:28 p.m. on the 3400 block of St. Aubin Street, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located.

Officials said an altercation ensued inside a building on the block and continued outside. An individual then fired shots that struck the male, whose age has yet to be disclosed, according to police. He was taken to the hospital where he was in stable condition on Saturday.

According to The Detroit News, the altercation was a fight that broke out during Detroit Edison’s boys basketball game against Detroit University Prep. 

As of Saturday afternoon, police haven’t shared whether any arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Duluth Police Department at 313-596-5740 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587.

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