For the second-straight year, the Detroit Tigers sent several players to the All-Star Game. And for the second-straight year, they disappointed in the star-studded exhibition.
The American League All-Stars beat the National League All-Stars, 4-0, at the 2026 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 14, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. And though it was a convincing win for the junior circuit, the Tigers didn’t have much to do with the victory.
Four Tigers players showed up to the game and three played, with slugger Riley Greene starting in left field, catcher Dillon Dingler coming in off the bench and rookie Kevin McGonigle making his All-Star debut in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Starting pitcher Justin Verlander, named to his 10th All-Star team via a “Legend’s Pick,” was inactive (but provided some fun mic’d-up moments both before and during the game).
The three Tigers hitters went a combined 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, reminiscent of the performance of the four Detroit batters in the 2025 All-Star Game (0-for-8, 3 Ks). Greene played four innings in the field but got no defensive chances, while McGonigle put one ball in play and caught two batted balls for the only defensive outs from a Detroit player.
Here’s a quick recap of how Detroit’s All-Star representatives fared in Philly.
Riley Greene: 0-for-2, 2 Ks
Greene was the AL’s starting left fielder for a second-straight year, dropping from second to eighth in the lineup from 2025 to 2026. But the change in batting order didn’t seem to help, as Greene struck out twice on both occasions and has five total strikeouts in three All-Star appearances.
Five strikeouts in three games may not seem that unusual for someone like Greene, who set Detroit’s single-season franchise record for strikeouts in 2025 (201 in 157 games). But it is near a historic mark for Tigers batters in All-Star history, with Greene already having the third-most strikeouts for any Tigers batter in the Midsummer Classic, behind franchise legends Al Kaline and Norm Cash.
However, Kaline recorded those six strikeouts in 16 career All-Star Games and Cash got to that point in five. Yes, the times were different for the old-timers, but still – striking out five times in six career All-Star plate appearances is probably not the outcome Greene wants.
Dillon Dingler: 0-for-1, K
Dingler on Tuesday became the first Tigers catcher to appear in an All-Star Game since Alex Avila in 2011. If he plays in another (which seems likely if he keeps up his 2026 performance into 2027), he’ll become one of just four Detroit catchers to play in multiple All-Star Games, the last being Iván Rodríguez from 2004-07.
Pudge played well during his All-Star appearances for the Tigers, going 3-for-9 with a walk and a triple in his four appearances. And while Dingler is likely just getting started with his All-Star-laden career, it didn’t start off the greatest, with Dingler catching for two innings and striking out in his only at-bat.
Kevin McGonigle: 0-for-2, K
The list of 21-year-olds to represent the Tigers in an All-Star Game goes like this: Kaline, staring pitcher Mark Fidrych and McGonigle. That’s pretty good company.
So McGonigle can probably be forgiven for going 0-for-2 in his first All-Star Game. Kaline struck out twice in his first All-Star Game in 1955, after all (though he also recorded a hit and a walk while playing the entire game), and McGonigle was the only Tigers batter to at least put a ball in play and record a defensive out.
But the highlight of the night (from a Tigers perspective, anyway) was McGonigle getting a well-deserved ovation from his hometown crowd before and during the game. Even if a big chunk of that noise came from his family and friends – 36 people in total as McGonigle revealed after the game – it was cool to see the Philly faithful giving love to the rookie.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Riley Greene on verge of making All-Star history – and not the good kind
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
