'One of the best swings I've ever seen': Greene hits 471 ft. grand slam
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WEST SACRAMENTO -- After a long home run to right field earlier this season in Detroit, Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter engaged in a debate with outfielder Riley Greene and other teammates.
The question: Did Carpenter think he had a chance at reaching the distant second deck at Comerica Park?
“No,” he concluded. “But Riley could.”
Greene got a chance to show off his prodigious power in Tuesday’s 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Athletics. He put the Tigers on the board in a big way in the third inning, crushing his first career grand slam OVER the center-field batter’s eye.
The dinger -- Greene’s 32nd of the season -- was projected at 471 feet, good for all sorts of Statcast superlatives. It was the Tigers’ longest home run under Statcast tracking (since 2015) and tied for the fourth-longest homer in MLB this season. Among grand slams specifically, only one -- a 473-foot blast from Kyle Schwarber in 2019 -- has been longer than Greene’s.
“That was one of the best swings I’ve ever seen,” Carpenter said. “It was amazing.”
The longest homer of Greene’s career, surpassing a 453-footer in 2023, was the Tigers’ response after the A’s got their own big swing in Monday’s series opener. Catcher Shea Langeliers crushed a go-ahead slam off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in the bottom of the seventh, putting the A’s en route to an 8-3 victory.
Greene’s slam Tuesday, which erased an early deficit, initially looked like it might propel the Tigers to a win. But the A’s responded in the bottom of the inning with two runs to take the lead, and Detroit managed just one more run -- on a Colt Keith homer in the fifth -- through nine innings.
The Tigers were ultimately undone by a sloppy 10th inning in which closer Will Vest allowed a game-tying single to Tyler Soderstrom, then issued three walks. Detroit committed several defensive miscues throughout the night, including a pair of popups dropped by Keith and two throws that first baseman Spencer Torkelson couldn't scoop up.
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While not every misplay factored into the final score, it was an uncharacteristic performance leading to a series loss and the possibility of a sweep.
“We created our own mess, and we paid for it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “You can’t make those kinds of mistakes and expect to win at this level. Some of them are on the scoreboard, and some of them aren’t. Frustrating night, and we didn’t do anything to win.”
Greene wasn’t immune -- his late throw from left field to the plate on the tying hit in the 10th allowed Soderstrom to advance a key 90 feet to second base -- but the 24-year-old has continued to shine at the dish.
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After cooling a bit in early August, Greene has now homered in three of his past five games. His 32 home runs lead his team and rank fourth in the American League.
Greene, who totaled 40 home runs across his first three big league seasons, is nearly in line to match that number in 2025 alone. His first career slam put him on pace for 38 homers.
“I think he’s really hitting his stride in the big leagues,” Carpenter said. “No one ever doubted the fact that he had this kind of pop, so it’s the fact that he’s getting the ball in the air and putting good swings on good pitches.”
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Tuesday’s tape-measure slam was proof of the potency of Greene’s bat. The lefty slugger -- who possesses the steepest swing in the Majors -- made contact at 110.7 mph on a down-and-away slider from A’s starter Osvaldo Bido.
Greene had gaudy numbers against Bido in the past: 5-for-6 with a double, a triple and two home runs in the Minors and a previous MLB homer in 2023, when Bido was with the Pirates.
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His 471-foot slam was his latest display of dominance against Bido, and it was a sight to see. Previously, the longest home run hit by a Tiger under Statcast tracking was projected at 467 feet, a mark reached by both J.D. Martinez in 2015 and Jeimer Candelario in 2019.
Greene outdid both sluggers on Tuesday night, and he just might have the power for another impressive feat, too.
If Greene parks a baseball in Comerica Park’s upper deck anytime soon, don’t be surprised.
"He’s awesome,” Carpenter said. “He’s as talented as they come.”