Who should represent Detroit Tigers in MLB All-Star game?
The “Days of Roar” podcast debates which players from the Detroit Tigers should make an appearance in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, set for July 15.
TAMPA, FL — Colt Keith couldn’t help but smile as he rounded the bases.
The 23-year-old hit the most improbable home run of his two-year MLB career, tying the score in the seventh inning Thursday, June 19, in Game 2 of the Detroit Tigers‘ doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park.
“His face says it all, so go get a snapshot of that,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
The Tigers ended up losing, 8-4, in 10 innings, but Keith’s two-run homer in the seventh tied the game, 4-4. It marked his fifth home run in 66 games this season — and his 18th homer through 214 games in the big leagues.
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The pitch Keith hit for an opposite-field home run was 4.22 feet above the ground, tied for the second-highest pitch any player has hit for a homer in 2025.
“It was really high up,” Keith said, who stands at 6 feet 2. “I was just trying to get on top of it. I tomahawked it, spun it right and was able to get it out.”
He hit a 94.4 mph four-seam fastball from Pirates right-handed reliever Isaac Mattson, located way above the strike zone. The pitch appeared to be north of Keith’s shoulders.
To compare: Keith is 74 inches tall; the pitch was 50.64 inches above the ground.
Somehow, he got his bat on the ball.
“It was pretty high,” said Keith, hitting .247 with a .738 OPS this season. “I was just trying to get on top of him. He has a really good heater and good ride on it. My whole goal was to get on top of it.”
The big swing occurred on the fourth pitch of the plate appearance. The first three pitches: 86.8 mph changeup (called strike), 94.1 mph fastball (called strike) and 94.6 mph fastball (fouled off). He was down 0-2 in the count when he attacked the elevated heater for a 353-foot home run to left field.
Keith hit it with a 93.3 mph exit velocity.
“Huge smile on his face,” Hinch said.
Keith thought the ball was going to travel into foul territory and out of play, but it stayed fair and kept flying — all the way over the fence. His seventh-inning homer increased the Tigers’ win probability from 23.7% to 54.8%, a 31.1% boost.
“It got us right back in the game,” Hinch said.
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Javier Báez starts at second base for first time since 2021
In a career revival, Javier Báez is hitting .293 with nine home runs and an .802 OPS. The 32-year-old also continues to contribute in a utility role, getting starts at shortstop, third base, center field — and now second base.
Báez started at second for the Tigers on Friday, June 20, in the opener of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Rays have a flurry of left-handed hitters.
“Keeping him to the pull side with all these left-handed hitters certainly was part of the consideration,” Hinch said.
The Tigers put Báez at second, Keith at third and Trey Sweeney at shortstop, with Gleyber Torres serving as the designated hitter.
“There’s not really a negative way to play it — Colt at second would be fine, and Javy at third,” Hinch said. “I love Javy in the middle of the field, so with Trey playing, the only way to keep Javy in the middle of the field is to move him to second. He’s done that. Keeps tags at second base alive. I don’t think I’ve ever said that about another defender, but it actually matters.”
It was Báez’s first start at second base since Oct. 1, 2021, with the New York Mets, exactly two months before he signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers.
Báez has already appeared in three games — covering five innings — at second base this season, all as a defensive substitution. Entering Friday, he made 28 starts in center field, 15 starts at shortstop and 14 starts at third base.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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