Greene reaches 20 HR with multi-HR game

September 5th, 2021

Riley Greene’s first full season of baseball has included many highlights, hot streaks and milestones. His performance on Sunday afternoon allowed him to check another one off his list.

Greene, MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 prospect, cranked two home runs to reach the 20-home run mark for the first time in his career. The outfielder drove in three runs with his two hits while hitting out of the two-hole for Toledo in its 11-10 win over Omaha.

The Tigers’ No. 2 prospect provided Toledo with instant offense on his two-run shot following Daz Cameron’s single to lead off the game. Greene hit a high fly ball off the 1-2 pitch that kept carrying until it landed on the grass beyond left field.

His second blast of the game was a solo shot in the fourth inning on a towering fly ball to center that landed out of Omaha center fielder Kyle Isbel’s reach, giving the lefty his second multihomer game of the season and the third of his career.

Greene was not the only Tigers prospect doing damage in the Mud Hens lineup. Spencer Torkelson (MLB No. 4), Ryan Kreidler (No. 10), Kody Clemens (No. 18), and Josh Lester all hit homers to total seven long balls for Toledo, with Clemens bashing two.

After posting a 1.064 OPS in August with eight homers and 28 RBIs over 26 games, Greene has carried his momentum in the box to September. In six games, the 20-year-old has gone 8-for-27 with five extra-base hits and seven RBIs, recording three multihit games.

Following their combined promotion to Triple-A on Aug. 16, Greene and Torkelson have often hit back-to-back in different positions atop Toledo’s lineup to great results; the Mud Hens have gone 13-6 since Detroit’s top two prospects came to town. With Torkelson starting to heat up by crushing four homers in September and Greene remaining a steady run scoring presence at the top of the lineup while improving month to month, Tigers fans can get a glimpse of the future as the two young stars gear up for a run to qualify for the Final Stretch, Triple-A’s new postseason tournament.