Ben Malgeri gave Detroit’s final homestand a little extra life Monday night, driving in three runs, making a full-extension catch in right field and helping River Ryan’s long-awaited Tigers debut land in the win column. Detroit beat Washington 9-2 at Comerica Park, which will carry the Fifth Third Park name beginning next season.
Key takeaways
- Malgeri doubled in the first inning and launched a three-run homer in the fifth, his fourth home run of the season.
- Ryan worked three scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his first appearance for Detroit.
- Keider Montero earned the victory, improving to 10-9 after four shutout innings and five strikeouts.
- Spencer Torkelson followed Malgeri’s fifth-inning blast with his 25th homer, a two-run shot.
- Detroit opened its last home series of the season with a 9-2 decision over the Nationals.
Malgeri makes his case under the lights
The day began with confirmation that Detroit’s ballpark will be renamed Fifth Third Park next year following Fifth Third Bank’s merger with Comerica. By nightfall, Malgeri had supplied a fitting on-field reminder of his own connection to the new name.
Before arriving in Detroit in June, the unheralded outfielder got off to a strong start at Triple-A Toledo, where the Mud Hens play at Fifth Third Field. He entered Monday carrying a .934 OPS in home games between Toledo and Detroit, a tidy coincidence for a player looking to secure a place on the Tigers’ 2027 roster.
Malgeri made an immediate impact in the field. With Ryan on the mound for the first inning, Nationals hitter Abimelec Ortiz lined a ball measured at 108 mph toward the right-field gap. Malgeri covered the ground and left his feet to take away the extra-base hit, ending the inning.
He came to the plate soon afterward and drove a double off the left-field wall during Detroit’s two-run first against Washington left-hander DJ Herz. In the fifth, Malgeri turned on a splitter from Luis Perales and sent it over the left-field fence for a three-run shot that pushed the game open.
It was Malgeri’s first homer since his two-home-run performance on Aug. 14. It also marked his first long ball against a left-handed pitcher in the majors, despite his increased opportunities against southpaws in recent weeks. Two batters after Malgeri went deep, Torkelson added to the damage with his 25th homer of the year.
Detroit drafted Malgeri in the 18th round in 2021 out of Northeastern University. The New Hampshire native was never listed among the organization’s ranked prospects, but he has become one of the club’s more compelling late-season auditions as the Tigers continue evaluating young players.
Ryan arrives, Montero finishes the job
Ryan’s Detroit debut had been postponed by a right hamstring injury after the Tigers acquired him from the Dodgers at the end of July in the Tarik Skubal trade. When he finally took the mound Monday, the right-hander provided three clean innings and struck out three.
His fastball reached 98 mph, with the pitch showing an average spin rate of 2,587 rpm and 19 inches of induced vertical break. Ryan did not need to carry the game deep, with Montero taking over in a piggyback role and keeping Washington scoreless for four more innings.
Montero struck out five and collected the win, while Detroit’s offense gave the staff plenty of room after the decisive fifth inning. For a club beginning the last stretch of its home schedule, Monday offered a useful snapshot of what September is for: a new arm taking the mound, a young outfielder seizing another chance, and a ballpark preparing for its next name.
