McKinstry went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a triple and an additional run scored in Friday's 7-5 win over the Royals.
McKinstry came a double shy of the cycle. It was a much-needed effort from the 30-year-old, who entered Friday mired in a 5-for-32 slump since his last homer Aug. 6. For the season, he's slashing .265/.340/.455 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, 58 runs scored and 19 steals across 424 plate appearances.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Sitting against right-hander
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
The left-handed-hitting McKinstry had started in each of the last four games while the Tigers faced right-handed pitchers, but he went just 2-for-15 during that stretch to bring his batting average down to .258 for the season. The Tigers will go up against another righty (Spencer Arrighetti) on Monday, but McKinstry will give up his spot in the lineup to Trey Sweeney, who draws the start at shortstop.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Out of lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the White Sox.
McKinstry has gone 0-for-6 with five strikeouts in the first two games of the series and is slashing only .172/.243/.328 in the second half, so he'll get a day off to regroup. Colt Keith is at third base and batting leadoff for the Tigers.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle against lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.
The left-handed-hitting McKinstry will take a seat for the second time in the series while the Phillies send another southpaw (Cristopher Sanchez) to the hill. With McKinstry on the bench, Javier Baez will cover shortstop, and Matt Vierling will serve as the Tigers' starting center fielder.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Getting night off vs. lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Diamondbacks.
McKinstry will join fellow left-handed hitters Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter on the bench while southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez takes the hill for Arizona. Andy Ibanez will fill in at third base in place of McKinstry, who had started in 15 of the Tigers' previous 16 contests.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in lopsided loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Saturday's 15-7 loss to the Mariners.
A day after swiping two bases, McKinstry made his mark with his eighth home run of the season. It's one away from matching his career high, as the utility player hasn't generally been known for his power. McKinstry is also now sitting with an .842 OPS, which would easily be a new high-water mark and is well above his career .684 figure. McKinstry has been a sneaky fantasy performer in 2025 who can fill in at multiple positions across the field.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Swipes two bases in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI in Friday's 12-3 loss to the Mariners. He also stole two bases.
McKinstry kept his strong July rolling along, as he's now batting .323 with a 1.030 OPS across 10 games this month. He also stole two bases in a contest for the second time this season, with the other coming just three days prior. For the year, the utility player has now swiped 15 bases in 18 attempts, and he's paired that with a .287 batting average and .831 OPS through 86 games, giving McKinstry some unexpected fantasy value at this point in the season.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 5-1 win over the Rays.
McKinstry launched his seventh home run of the season in the seventh inning, which was one of three Detroit long balls on the night. The veteran utility player continued his strong recent play, as he's now batting .344 over his last 10 games with three home runs, four RBI and eight runs scored. Overall, McKinstry is sporting a .285 batting average and an .819 OPS, both of which are significantly above his career marks of .233 and .678, respectively.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Could benefit sans Carpenter
Rotowire
McKinstry will start at third base and bat sixth in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Nationals.
Though the Tigers had shown more of a willingness to use Colt Keith at third base of late, McKinstry could end up seeing the bulk of the playing time at the position for the duration of Detroit's first-half schedule. With Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) landing on the injured list Wednesday and likely to be held out through the All-Star break, the Tigers will have openings for Keith at first base or designated hitter, with Spencer Torkelson likely starting at the other spot. McKinstry should thus have a clear path to steady playing time at third base in the short term, though the utility player had already been included in the Detroit lineup in five of the previous six contests. McKinstry's production had been tailing off in the second half of May, but he sported a hot bat throughout June, finishing the month with a .321/.353/.538 slash line to go with two home runs and seven stolen bases in 24 games.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Losing work at hot corner
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
For the second time in three games, McKinstry will hit the bench while the Tigers face a right-handed starting pitcher. With the team getting more comfortable using Colt Keith at third base, McKinstry's primary path to playing time appears to be closing. The 30-year-old is still capable of filling in at two other infield spots as well as both corner outfield spots, but his at-bats could become sporadic now that all of Detroit's key hitters are available, sans Matt Vierling (shoulder).
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Swipes bag in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's 3-2, extra-inning loss to the White Sox. He also stole a base.
McKinstry continues to produce for the Tigers with hits in four of his last five games and a .271 average for the season. The utility man is also up to four stolen bases, and after recording 16 steals each of the last two years, he could start running more moving forward. McKinstry isn't the most exciting player, but his versatility and steady production is getting him into the lineup most days.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Resting up Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
The Tigers will give McKinstry a day off Saturday after he went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout during Friday's contest. His absence will allow Javier Baez to start at the hot corner while batting ninth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat Monday
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
Unless he's used off the bench, McKinstry will put an eight-game hitting streak on hold while he takes a seat after starting each of the last four games. McKinstry has been an unsung hero in the Tigers' 18-10 start to the season, slashing .321/.426/.476 with one home run and two stolen bases while making starts at second base, third base, right field and left field. Though McKinstry may not have a permanent home at any one position, the Tigers should continue to make regular room for him in the lineup against right-handed pitching while he's wielding a hot bat.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Absent from Detroit lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Padres.
It's a routine day off for McKinstry, who had started 12 of the previous 13 games for the Tigers. He'll yield to Justyn-Henry Malloy in left field Tuesday.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Batting third again Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry is starting in right field and batting third in Saturday's game against the Royals.
After mostly batting lower in the order earlier in the season, McKinstry is now starting and batting third for the second time in the last three games. The versatile 29-year-old has appeared in all 20 of Detroit's games to date, and he's performed well with a .765 OPS. McKinstry may see a reduction in playing time once the likes of Matt Vierling (shoulder), Wenceel Perez (back) and Parker Meadows (arm) are able to return from injury.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not starting versus lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Milwaukee, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
The lefty-swinging McKinstry will grab a seat as left-hander Jose Quintana toes the slab for the Brewers. McKinstry has been seeing most of his playing time in right field lately, but that spot will be covered by Justyn-Henry Malloy in Wednesday's series finale.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI in Tuesday's win over the Yankees.
McKinstry plated the game's first run on a sacrifice fly in the second. He then took part in a three-homer fourth inning for the Tigers with a solo blast to right center field for his first long ball of the year. McKinstry has had a fast start at the dish so far, hitting safely in each of his last six games while owing a .355 average and .447 on-base percentage for the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not in Detroit lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
The left-handed hitting McKinstry started Sunday's contest versus the White Sox against a lefty, but he'll begin this one on the bench as the Yankees turn to southpaw Carlos Rodon. Andy Ibanez is at third base and Manuel Margot will patrol right field for the Tigers.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Reaches three times in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-4 win over the White Sox.
It was a productive evening for McKinstry and it continued his impressive start to the season. The utility player is slashing .280/.379/.360 through seven contests, and he's seen time at five different positions already. McKinstry's .739 OPS would be a new career high, but it remains to be seen if the 29-year-old can sustain this level of production over the course of the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat against lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.
Left-hander Blake Snell will draw the start for Los Angeles on Thursday, so the lefty-hitting McKinstry will begin Opening Day on the bench. Andy Ibanez will draw the start at third base instead and bat leadoff.
