Chicago — Kerry Carpenter’s road back to Detroit makes a stop in Toledo on Friday night.
The Tigers slugger is set to begin a rehab assignment in Triple A, with the Mud Hens officially announcing Friday afternoon that he would be in the lineup for the team’s game against Columbus at Fifth Third Field.
It marks the first game action for Carpenter since May 9. He has been on the injured list with a left AC joint sprain.
It’s not clear how many rehab games in Toledo that Carpenter will need. Gleyber Torres (left oblique strain) also is set to join Toledo this weekend, though he wasn’t expected to play right away Friday night.
Carpenter and Torres are two of the four members of the Tigers’ Opening Day starting lineup currently on the injured list, along with shortstop Javier Báez (right ankle sprain) and center fielder Parker Meadows (left radius fracture). The Tigers’ lineup has missed them dearly, with a .611 team OPS in May, after posting a .744 OPS in March/April. They’ve scored three or fewer runs 15 times this month, and have had double-digit hits three times.
Carpenter had a .750 OPS with six home runs and 17 RBIs through 37 games, before landing on the injured list.
The Tigers open a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox on Friday night, after a series loss to the Los Angeles Angels that dropped Detroit to 22-35, tied for the worst record in the American Legaue.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Injured Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter to play first game since May 9
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
