Saturday, April 05

Welcome back to another edition of the Tigers Beat newsletter. This edition, regional producer Josh Kirshenbaum pinch-hit with a feature on Justyn-Henry Malloy’s call-up.

The only bad part about Justyn-Henry Malloy’s experience Monday was that he didn’t get to keep his airline miles. Well, that and a lack of sleep.

Because at 1:30 a.m., fresh off a 2-for-4 day at the plate in Triple-A Toledo’s 6-5 win over Columbus on Sunday, Malloy got a call with marching orders to join the Tigers in Seattle with Gleyber Torres going to the IL with an oblique strain. 

“I had no idea,” Malloy said. “The only thing that I knew was, ‘Hey, we need you in Seattle. We have some things that are going on right now, we can’t really let you know right now, but we need you to go.’ Just packed my bag and got on a flight.”

That last bit is something that Malloy is used to, after his last week. 

On March 23, Malloy was in the starting lineup of the Tigers’ Grapefruit League finale in Clearwater, Fla. That night, he flew with the team to San Francisco, where Detroit wrapped up its Spring Training slate with two games at Oracle Park. Wednesday, he was on the plane to Los Angeles, where the Tigers were set to open the season.

But there, Malloy -- who ended the season in Detroit last year, hitting .203 with eight home runs in 71 big league games -- got a harsher sort of news, getting optioned to Toledo. Instead of lining up on the baseline for Opening Day, Malloy got on another plane, back to Toledo to start the season in Triple-A.

“It’s just one of those things where you want to be a professional about it, and go handle business elsewhere, which is what I was trying to do,” Malloy said.

He did just that for three whole days, logging five hits and five RBIs in three games over the weekend before getting the late-night call Sunday. So at 8 a.m., he was back at Detroit Metro Airport for his third cross-country flight in eight days, getting to the Tigers’ hotel about an hour before the buses left for T-Mobile Park.

There, he learned the rest of the news about Torres’ IL stint – and that manager A.J. Hinch was slotting him straight into the top of Detroit’s lineup, having him lead off as the designated hitter in the opener against the Mariners.

“We got to the field today and I let him know he was going to be active, he was going to be leading off, and he was going to DH,” Hinch said. “I’m not sure what hit him the hardest.”

The early at-bats may have been the best thing to keep Malloy fresh after the night he had, and he made the most of them, lacing a leadoff double the other way to the wall with 102.1 mph exit velocity to kick off a six-run first inning of an eventual 9-6 win. Malloy finished the night going 2-for-4 with two walks and an RBI. 

“Just keep going, keep moving around,” he said. “But I feel good. A little lack of sleep, but adrenaline fixed it real quick.”

For those keeping track at home, that’s over 6,600 air miles for the 25-year old in just over a week -- though he said he won’t get to save them.

“I don’t get none of them,” Malloy said. “But who cares? Keep the miles. I don’t really care.”

Spencer Torkelson became the first Major Leaguer in the modern era (since 1901) to walk four times and homer on Opening Day. Who was the last Tiger to do that in any game? 

A. Cecil Fielder 

B. Travis Fryman

C. J.D. Martinez

D. Jason Thompson

Michigan’s unofficial holiday celebrating the arrival of spring is upon us Friday with the Tigers’ home opener, but it doesn’t end there. The Tigers are home all weekend hosting the White Sox. The first 15,000 fans through the gates for Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. matinee will receive a Tigers flannel shirt.

Sunday’s 1:40 series finale features a special hockey-themed ticket package that includes a Tigers-Red Wings collaboration trapper hat. Both games, like Friday’s home opener, will feature pregame block parties outside the park that include local food trucks, performances from local DJs and artists, pregame shows from 97.1 The Ticket, and interactive games like speed pitching stations, cornhole, giant Jenga and Plinko.

For more information, visit tigers.com/tickets.

C. MARTINEZ

Martinez homered twice and walked four times, two intentional, on May 16, 2017 in a 13-inning loss to the Orioles. Fielder was the last Tiger to do it in a nine-inning game on May 14, 1995. Fryman was the last to do it without being walked intentionally, on July 15, 1994.

To subscribe to Tigers Beat, visit this page and mark "Tigers Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Tigers or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (dawn.klemish@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.