West Sacramento – After a long home run in the right field in Detroit earlier this season, Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter debated outfielder Riley Greene and other teammates.
Question: Does Carpenter think he has a chance to reach the distant second deck of Comerica Park?
“No,” he concluded. “But Riley can.”
Green had a chance to show off his strength in Tuesday's 7-6, 10-innings loss to track and field. In the third inning, he put the Tigers on the board, making his first career grand slam in the eyes of midfield batsmen.
Greene's season 32 – expected to be 471 feet, suitable for all kinds of statcasts Supreme Court. It was the Tigers' longest home run under Statcast tracking (since 2015) and tied for the fourth-longest home run of the season in MLB. Especially in the Grand Slam, there is only one – the 2019 Kyle Schwarber's 473-foot explosion – longer than Greene.
“That's one of the best fluctuations I've ever seen,” Carpenter said. “It's amazing.”
Green's longest home run in his career surpassed 453 feet in 2023 and was the response after the Tigers received their own big swing in the series opener on Monday. Receiver Shea Langeliers shattered a Grand Slam from Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal at the bottom of the seventh inning, which gave the A's pathway an 8-3 victory.
Green's Grand Slam Tuesday eliminated the early deficit and initially looked likely to push the Tigers' victory. But A's A made two leads in the situation, with Detroit only running twice in the fifth inning – two runnings on Colt Keith Homer in the fifth.
The Tigers were eventually revoked by a sloppy 10th inning, in which close distance would allow Tyler Sodstrom's singles to play before being released three walks. Detroit made several defensive mistakes all night, including a pair of pop-ups dropped by Keith and two throws that first baseman Spencer Torkelson could not scooped.
While not every wrong competition is attributed to the final score, this is an atypical manifestation, leading to a range of losses and sweeps.
“We created our own chaos and paid for it,” said Tigers manager AJ Hinch. “You can't make these mistakes and expect to win at this level. Some of them are on the scoreboard, some of them are not. We didn't do any wins on the frustrating night.”
Green has no immunity – his close throw from left field to plate in the tenth equalizer allowed Soderstrom to step a key to second base, but the 24-year-old continued to shine on the dish.
Green now has home runs in three of his last five games after cooling in early August. He leads his team with 32 home runs and ranks fourth in the American League.
Greene has a total of 40 home runs in his first three major league seasons, almost matching that number in 2025 alone. His first professional grand slam put him at 38 home runs.
“I think he really strides forward in the big leagues,” Carpenter said. “No one doubts he has this popular fact, so that's the fact that he plays the ball in the air and wiels good fluctuations on a good court.”
Tuesday's volume slam proved Green's Bat's performance. Left-handed lefties – with the steepest swing in the Grand Slam – touched at 110.7 mph on the A's starter Osvaldo Bido's descent slider.
Green has been cautious about Bido's numbers in the past: doubles, triple and two home runs in minors, and in 2023, Bido has two home runs and two home runs in the Pirates.
His 471-foot Grand Slam is his latest dominance against Bido, a spot. Previously, expected to hit the longest home run in Statcast track by the Tiger at 467 feet, JD Martinez and Jeimer Candelario reached their mark in 2019.
Greene surpassed both draggers on Tuesday night, and he might also have the power of another impressive feat.
Don't be surprised if Greene will soon be on the upper deck of Comerica Park.
“He’s great,” Carpenter said. “He is as talented as they do.”