Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep off bench Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Saturday's 6-5 loss to Atlanta.
The veteran utility player appeared as a pinch hitter for Andy Ibanez in the sixth inning and promptly launched his 12th home run of the season. McKinstry has been a surprising source of offense all year, as the 12 long balls are already a new career high, as are his 49 RBI. McKinstry is also sporting a .769 OPS through 138 games, which is well ahead of his career .679 mark.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Back in starting nine
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McKinstry (back) will start at third base and bat eighth in Friday's game against the Marlins.
McKinstry missed each of the previous three contests with a back issue, but he's ready to give it a go in Friday's series opener. With McKinstry handling third base, Colt Keith will be used in the designated-hitter slot.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Out Wednesday with back issue
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McKinstry (back) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
McKinstry is day-to-day will back stiffness, which resulted in him being scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's 12-2 win. He'll remain on the bench Wednesday, though even if fully healthy, the left-handed-hitting utility player might have sat anyway with southpaw Carlos Rodon on the bump for New York.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Battling back stiffness
Rotowire
McKinstry was scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Yankees due to upper-back stiffness.
McKinstry lost what had been a six-game hitting streak during Sunday's contest, and his back will now force him to the bench for Tuesday's series opener. While he recovers, Trey Sweeney will start at shortstop and bat ninth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Drives in two in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a walk, a triple, a run scored and two RBI in Monday's 10-8 loss to the Mets.
McKinstry continued his nice stretch at the plate, as he's now batting .323 over his last 10 games with a home run, five RBI and six runs scored. Monday's triple was the utility player's 11th of the season, which is seven more than anyone else on the team. On the year, McKinstry is now sporting a .789 OPS, which would be a new career best.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals.
McKinstry will sit down Saturday after making seven consecutive starts, going 7-for-24 with a homer, three RBI and four runs scored in the process. Trey Sweeney will take his place at shortstop and bat eighth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Reaches three times in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in Tuesday's 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Athletics.
McKinstry has been on a nice run lately, as he's batting .323 over his last 10 games with a home run, two stolen bases, four RBI and five runs scored. The veteran utility player has had a strong year overall, slashing .265/.342/.448 across 120 contests. It's been a big offensive jump for McKinstry, who has a career slash line of just .232/.300/.381 in six MLB seasons.
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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: 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
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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.
