Tigers in need of regroup after scary collision, tough series

MINNEAPOLIS -- The sight of Parker Meadows lying on the outfield grass at Target Field with blood trickling out of his mouth left the crowd of predominantly Twins fans in silence. So you can imagine the emotions going through Meadows’ Tigers teammates as a cart motored in from behind the outfield fence and emergency medical personnel ran onto the field.

“You see a ball that's a perfect tweener,” said catcher Jake Rogers, who watched the collision between Meadows and left fielder Riley Greene unfold from behind home plate. “You have two guys who like to go and get it. It's a scary thing.”

• Meadows to spend night at hospital after collision with Greene in left field

Said Greene: “It's a terrible feeling. I still feel terrible.”

It wasn’t just the players who were worried.

“That was an ugly, scary one,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “and there's a lot of concern for him. When we got out there, it looked like he had bit his lip or inside his mouth so there was some blood, and he was pretty out of it. Those are scary collisions.”

Somehow after that, the Tigers had to collect themselves, flush what they just saw happen to one of the most popular players in the clubhouse and finish out a game they had battled back to even at that point.

“It's very hard,” said Greene. “He's my teammate, one of my great friends, so super hard to see him on the ground after we collided.”

It’s one of the biggest challenges of sports.

“It's always hard,” Hinch said. “That's not an excuse. You try to get back in the competition. At that point, we have one out and nobody on. I don't want to say it doesn't impact the game because we care about our teammate, but at the same time these guys can reset and get back in the competition. Now after the game, I've got an entire group in there that's pretty concerned about him.”

Once play resumed, the Twins rallied -- a Matt Wallner walk, a Victor Caratini single, then a Royce Lewis infield grounder that left third baseman Colt Keith with no play as Lewis (who had seemingly hurt his knee on a swing earlier in the at-bat) -- rumbled into first base to load the bases.

And as Brooks Lee’s two-out grounder skirted past second baseman Zach McKinstry’s diving attempt and into right field for a go-ahead two-run single, the sense of Murphy’s Law that seemed to hang over the Tigers all series resurfaced again.

Yet as the Tigers gathered in the clubhouse following a 3-1 loss that finished their first four-game series sweep to the Twins since July 8-11, 2021, and their first four-game sweep anywhere since dropping a series to the Astros in May 2022, the players could be forgiven if their minds were elsewhere.

“That was scary. I hope he's all right,” Rogers said. “I haven't seen him. I just hope he's good. It's a very scary thing to see that collision in the outfield. Two really good outfielders going after a ball full speed and colliding like that is never fun. So yeah, it is scary. I know he'll be all right, but I hope he's all right right now.”

Meadows was outside the Tigers’ clubhouse after the game on a stretcher, waiting to be taken to a local hospital where he’ll remain overnight for observation.

“You just hope everybody has thoughts and prayers with him, and he’s going to be all right,” pitcher Jack Flaherty said. “He’s a tough guy. We continue to pray over him. Tough way to end the series. Just pray to God for Parker. He’s as good of a guy as they come. Scary situation.”

The Tigers’ fifth consecutive loss wrapped up a season-opening stretch in which they played 13 games across three time zones in four different cities, just three at home at Comerica Park. They’ll get six games at home, starting with a three-game set that starts Friday night against the Marlins, though they’ll have to do so without Meadows in center. The fact that Wenceel Pérez was out of the lineup for Triple-A Toledo on Thursday night seemingly hinted at who could fill in.

The Tigers’ 4-9 record matched the Mariners, their rivals in a thrilling AL Division Series last October, for worst in the Majors as of Thursday evening.

“It is early, but guys are [ticked]. We don't want to lose,” Rogers said. “To come here to Minnesota and not get any [wins] and get swept is a punch in the mouth. I hope we go home and turn the page. We keep it light in this locker room, but the guys are down right now. We're going to learn from it and hopefully go to Detroit and put the gas on the pedal.”