MINNEAPOLIS -- Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows was removed from Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Twins after taking contact to the face and head in an ugly collision with left fielder Riley Greene.
Meadows and Greene were running down an eighth-inning line drive from Twins slugger Josh Bell, who already had a home run and two singles in the game. Meadows looked over at Greene at the last second, but too late to avoid a head-to-head collision that sent Meadows spinning to the ground and Greene onto his right knee. Greene got back up and held onto the ball, but Meadows stayed on the ground, face up, blood coming out of his mouth.
“It was a terrible feeling,” Greene said after the game. “I still feel terrible.”
Emergency medical personnel and a cart joined Tigers athletic trainer Ryne Eubanks and manager A.J. Hinch on the field to tend to Meadows, who got up after a few minutes and sat down on the cart as it wheeled him off the field. Meadows was transported to a local hospital after the game and will remain there overnight for observation.
“That was an ugly, scary one, and there's a lot of concern for him,” Hinch said. “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. You don't know what you're going to get when you get there. Obviously we're going to get him checked out for everything, but this one worries me.”
That sense of worry permeated throughout the Tigers’ clubhouse after the game.
“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.”
Javier Báez, who filled in for an injured Meadows in center field last season and earned an All-Star selection, moved from shortstop to center in Meadows’ place. Kevin McGonigle, who had a scheduled day out of the starting lineup, entered the game at shortstop.
Meadows and Greene are close friends, both having come up through the Tigers farm system after being drafted by Detroit in 2018 and 2019 respectively. They have been teammates in the Tigers outfield since late in the 2023 season, when Meadows was called up and Greene moved from center to left field. Greene was the first to tend to Meadows after the collision and remained with him until he was wheeled off the field.
“He's my teammate, one of my great friends,” Greene said, “so super hard to see him on the ground after we collided.”