PHOENIX – Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has shuffled his batting order significantly.
Hinch has moved Colt Keith up to leadoff and rookie Kevin McGonigle to second, per the lineup posted on MLB.com for the second game of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, March 31.
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“I want him up to bat a lot,” Hinch said of Keith on Monday. “He controls his at-bats. He’s walking. He’s hitting the ball hard.”
Detroit Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle hits a two-run single during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, March 27, 2026.
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Gleyber Torres, who has drawn six walks through his first four games this season – trailing only Mike Trout (seven) for the most free passes in all of baseball – is batting third.
Keith is hitting .429 while McGonigle is hitting a crisp .357.
Riley Greene, who is hitting .176, will hit fourth.
Kerry Carpenter, who had been hitting leadoff, has struggled through a .063 stretch and has been dropped from leadoff to fifth.
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Spencer Torkelson, hitting .188, will hit sixth, followed by Zach McKinstry (.250), Parker Meadows (.222) and Jake Rogers (0-for-3).
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Colt Keith, Kevin McGonigle move up in Detroit Tigers lineup