The Detroit Tigers pulled All-Star left fielder Riley Greene after he was hit by a pitch in the second inning of the series-opener against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
But it may be more than a bruise.
In his first and only at-bat against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, a 3-2 fastball came too far inside and hit Greene in the lower right leg. It looked real bad at first, but in the slow-motion replay you could see the pitch at least partially hit the leg guard he was wearing. Greene took a second in the box, but waved off manager A.J. Hinch and ran down to first base with a big applause.
Greene continued his running with a trip from first base to home on an RBI double from first baseman Spencer Torkelson, giving the Tigers the game's
first run.
Greene sprinted around the bases seemingly without issue, but he remained in the third-base dugout for the top of the third inning. Ben Malgeri took Greene's place in left field for the top of the third.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Tigers announced Greene was pulled due to right hamstring tightness, rather than a contusion, seemingly indicating the injury may not have been caused by taking the pitch to the leg.
Greene has been an iron man for the Tigers. The three-time All-Star corner outfielder had appeared in 116 of the Tigers' 118 games so far this season, either in left field or as a designated hitter. Greene is hitting .273 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs on the season.
ContactJared Ramsey at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Riley Greene exits game with hamstring injury after getting beaned
