DETROIT -- Riley Greene has taken steps to limit the wear and tear on his body in the outfield, such as a more subtle jump on his feet before the ball is hit. He has invested in tools to help his body recover after games, and he has changed his diet.
"I think it's going to be a game-changer,” the Tigers All-Star said a couple of weeks ago. “I think it's going to add some more years to my career. I hope it does. Just the small things make a big difference in the long run."
Still, when the ball is in the air, Greene is going to go all out for it. He knows it, and so do the pitchers who benefit from his highlight-reel catches. It’s the only way he knows to play the game.
“We know he’s going to get a good read and put his body on the line to make plays out there,” said Casey Mize, whose breakout season continued with 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Orioles to begin a doubleheader sweep at Comerica Park. “A lot of people think bat first when they think of Riley, just because he does so much damage and he’s such a good hitter. But he’s pretty exceptional in left field.”
Normally that shows itself on diving catches, but Greene will run into a wall to get a ball. The Tigers changed the padding on their outfield fences a couple of years ago in part because of Greene’s collisions with them. Twice on Saturday, he tested it in left, colliding with the fence for critical catches.
The first was subtle. At first glance, Jackson Holliday’s second-inning drive to the warning track sent Greene reaching up for the ball before bouncing off the fence. But the look on Greene's face as he signaled the second out made it clear he felt it. It was the price to pay for helping strand two runners in the inning.
“I didn’t really feel it in Game 2,” Greene said. “I felt it in Game 1 for sure.”
The second catch was bigger, and the impact more obvious. Ramón Laureano’s seventh-inning drive off Brenan Hanifee sent Greene sprinting to the fence. He leapt for the ball, knowing the impact that was coming, and took away at least extra bases from Laureano. Greene bounced off the fence and went to the ground, holding onto the ball as fans and teammates alike waited to see if he was OK. As he threw the ball in from his knees and got back to his feet, the fans rose to theirs to give him a standing ovation.
“Seeing him get up after he makes the play, I think that’s the best part of the play,” Mize said.
Manager A.J. Hinch would agree. While the Tigers have rotated several players in center field this season with Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez out, Hinch has watched how often he plays Greene in center, hoping to limit how much running and diving he does. But while left field gives Greene less ground to cover, it also presents closer fences.
“Maybe I should put him in center so he can avoid the fence, but we can increase the volume,” Hinch said wryly. “The ball finds him, and he finds a way to get his outs. …
“One of the reasons I love him in left is not just because it’s not center. He’s actually really good in left field. He has a great feel for where he is. He can get up over the fence. And he seems to make these great plays when it doesn’t seem like the play is possible. And that’s because he sells out from the jump. It’s a unique trait for him, and for us.”
Not only did Greene stay in the game, he nearly made a diving catch two batters later, charging in on Gunnar Henderson blooper in shallow left. Greene got to the ball, spreading out his body in what he calls a Superman dive to try to spread the impact with the ground, but couldn’t hold onto the ball. He led off the bottom of the inning and fouled off four consecutive pitches from O’s lefty reliever Cionel Pérez before striking out.
Greene started Game 2 in center, a position he loves to play and still plays well. He made an impact almost immediately, clubbing a three-run home run -- Greene's fourth homer of the season -- in the third inning. It was his first home run since April 4, and it keyed a 6-2 win for the sweep.
“Homers are going to come,” said Greene, who had a double in Game 1. “I’m just trying to put together better at-bats for the team. And they’ve been really bad on my part, the at-bats. I’m glad I could pull together a walk, some hard-hit balls, the homer.”
It’s a lot of wear and tear for one day, but the key is in the recovery, from maintenance to diet.
“I need to continue to do it,” Greene said Saturday. “It’s hard to do things for your body when you’re diving on the ground and you’re running into things. You just have to sleep it off.”