Kevin McGonigle cranks it up a notch for Detroit Tigers in D.R. loss
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Detroit Tigers lost, 12-4, to the Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic squad in an exhibition on Tuesday, March 3, at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal.
What happened
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch decided to start Kevin McGonigle, the Tigers prized prospect, at shortstop and bat him leadoff against Team Dominican.
“It's just another step in the right direction of showing him what it's like to play against the best,” Hinch said. “He's more than equipped to handle it, and my guess is, he'll be really pretty anxious to swing at an early pitch.”
And what are the lottery numbers, A.J.?
Because on the first pitch from Luis Severino (a two-time All-Star now with the Athletics), McGonigle demolished a homer to right.
McGonigle sprinted around the bases, obviously jacked up, and went into the dugout, high fiving everyone in sight.
In the second inning, McGonigle came through again. He hit a sharp single, driving in two more runs to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Yes, McGonigle drove in all of them.
He added another run in the fourth inning after a walk, getting to third on a throwing error and scoring on a Riley Greene sacrifice fly to make the score: Kevin McGonigal 4, Team Dominican 3.
And then he picked up his third hit, a single, in the seventh, before getting taken out for the night.
At the plate
Colt Keith, who has changed his spring training routine to ty to start off faster, got a pair of hits.
And a pair of Tigers from the Dominican Republic – outfielder Wenceel Pérez and designated hitter Thayron Liranzo – both picked up a pair of hits in front of plenty of friends and family. Pérez added another in the seventh.
Pérez last took this field in Santo Domingo when he was trying out for MLB clubs. He returned to the Dominican Republic having played in 212 major league games over two seasons (2024-25) with the Tigers, hitting 33 doubles, 10 triples and 22 home runs while driving in 80 runs over that span.
MORE SEIDEL: Kevin McGonigle has changed my mind after watching him in camp
On the mound
Ty Madden got the start for the Tigers against a Dominican Republic batting order with superstar after superstar.
The roster Madden faced combined for 340 MLB home runs last season. Sixteen players have 39 total All-Star selections, including eight from last year’s game.
Madden handled it like somebody tiptoeing through a minefield.
First up: Fernando Tatis Jr. – single to right.
Ketel Marte? Ground out.
Juan Soto, with a runner on second? Fly out to right.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – struck out swinging.
But in the second inning, it all fell apart. There was no more tiptoeing. Madden gave up three hits and walked two, leading to three earned runs and ending his outing.
The wheels came off against left-hander Brant Hurter in the fourth inning, as Soto, Manny Machado and Junior Caminero – each of whom received MVP votes last season – all hit homers to turn it into a rout.
Three stars
1. McGonigle, 2. Pérez, 3. Keith.
Next up
Wednesday (2:05 p.m., MLB Network) vs. Team Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo. (Also, the rest of the Tigers will face Team Panama in Lakeland, Florida, at 1:05 p.m., with no TV.)
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kevin McGonigle unstoppable for Detroit Tigers in Dominican Republic
