Player of the gameFramber ValdezDET6.0ip 6h 0er 2k
How did Riley Greene, who led the American League and set a Tigers single-season record for strikeouts last year, become one of the most effective ABS challengers in the league this season? Of course, it starts with a knowledge of the strike zone and the confidence to stay within it, something he worked on a lot with offseason hitting. But there’s also a situational awareness of when it’s worth a challenge. And when Greene makes a challenge, it’s often meaningful -- maybe none more so than Friday night. What looked like an inning-ending called third strike became a full count when Greene made a challenge. Three pitches later, as his go-ahead triple clattered off the center-field fence, the challenge had turned the course of the sixth inning into a four-run rally and a 6-2 win over the Rockies at Comerica Park. While Dillon Dingler has been the best at ABS from behind the plate in the system’s inaugural season in the Major Leagues, Greene has quietly put together an impressive record from the batter’s box. The sixth inning came together perfectly to put that to work once Gleyber Torres’ one-out walk off lefty reliever Mark Manfredi set Detroit’s go-ahead rally in motion. Spencer Torkelson just missed a go-ahead homer, flying out to the warning track in left for the second out. Manfredi attacked Greene with fastballs in a lefty-lefty situation and seemingly had frozen him with a 2-2 heater on the outside corner that drew a call from home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa. “We talk about conviction being one of the biggest things you need when you make a challenge,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He obviously felt good about it right away. These guys try to keep track of how many we have left because the game’s moving pretty fast. Everybody knows you want to try to hold one if you can, but obviously, if you have conviction, you should go with it.” Greene had conviction, though it might have wavered a bit as the ABS graphic popped up on the giant video board in left field. “I thought it was going to be closer than it was,” Greene admitted. “I think \[Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman\
