Riley Greene is Hitting .500 Lately and Nobody Is Talking About It

The Detroit Tigers have not been having fun. Without question, the last few weeks have been a struggle, and this was a team in need of a bright spot. They needed a “moment”.

Coming off of getting swept by the New York Mets, where they were outscored 22-8, their manager was ejected, and there were four bad replay reviews; it seemed like the hits just wouldn’t stop.

Speaking of hits, a scary moment when Ty Madden took a 108-mph comebacker off his right forearm. Luck has just not been on this team’s side.

Within all of this chaos, Riley Greene was hitting .500. While the team has been falling apart around him: three games in Queens, three losses, six hits in 12 at-bats with two RBI. Greene just keeps hitting.

Greene’s contributions to this team are worthy of far more attention that he has been garnering.

The One Constant

Greene’s numbers are staggering. He enters the game on Saturday with a 10-game hitting streak, that’s the longest active run in the major leagues currently. His season line is impressive at .329/.422/.491 with a .913 OPS, 23 RBI and 26 walks against 50 strikeouts. He has also doubled 14 times in 45 games.

Take a closer look at recent games and the story gets even better. Over his last seven games, he is .500/.567/.654. Over the last 15: .400/.476/.564. Over the last 30: .385/.475/.567. This guy could be en route to an MVP ballot, or at least he should be per his results so far. But, in order for that to happen, the team has to pull together.

During the game on Friday, Greene was responsible for tying the game in the sixth inning with an RBI double off Trey Yesavage. That scored Dillon Dingler and gave Detroit a lifeline to find a win.

The story has remained the same just a another night. Greene delivers.

Torkelson’s Moment

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Spencer Torkelson is not having the season everyone expected. During the Mets series, he went 0-for-9 with five strikeouts. Zoom in, and it doesn’t get better. Over the last 15 games, he is slashing .151/.258/.245. He’s looked so bad on paper and in person at the plate, the Blue Jays took a calculated risk. They intentionally walked McKinstry to get to Torkelson.

Torkelson delivered the moment everyone has been waiting for but did not expect. He hit a two-strike double which scored Vierling and walked off the Blue Jays 3-2. Now, it was one hit in one game and that certainly doesn’t erase a .200 average and 55 strikeouts, but it was a moment, and one that this team desperately needed.

Torkelson’s power is still there. He has the ability to hit home runs. Everyone knows he is capable of being a big bat in the lineup if he can get out of his own way.

The Lineup Is Returning

In a time where good news is certainly welcomed, the Tigers are getting some. The win on Friday snapped a small losing streak. Casey Mize is headed to the mound on Saturday, fiinally. Tarik Skubal is already playing catch and could come back sooner rather than later. Gleyber Torres is heading toward a rehab assignment and Will Vest has already started his at Triple-A Toledo.

If the injury list can keep strinking, it will stop defining Detroit’s 2026 season, but really only time will tell there.

Detroit is nowhere near where they want to be. Currently sitting at 20-25 and last in the AL Central, 4.5 games behind Cleveland, this ballclub has to find ways to win away from home. Maybe Torkelson provided the spark to start the turnaround.

With several bits of good news, there are some reasons now to believe it could happen.

Riley Greene has been providing those reasons for the whole season, the rest of the Tigers squad needs to catch up.

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