Tigers might have major silver lining from all-around disappointing loss to Astros

It's not always easy to find silver linings in an 8-5 defeat, but the Detroit Tigers found a pretty big one in their frustrating loss to the Houston Astros on Monday.

Dare we say it – Riley Greene is so back.

The All-Star outfielder, who led the Tigers in nearly every offensive category last season, has gotten off to a maddeningly slow start at the plate in 2025. His bat came alive in Houston, however, where he went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three RBI.

Greene launched a solo home run off of Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco in the fourth inning, then connected with a Kaleb Ort fastball to go deep again and score Gleyber Torres in the eighth. It was Greene's first multi-homer game of the season, and he now has three long balls in his last three games.

Riley Greene heats up for Tigers despite disappointing loss to Astros

Three homers in three games is already impressive for any hitter, but even more so for Greene. Prior to his recent tear, the 24-year-old had hit a total of three home runs in his previous 25 games. Entering Monday's game against the Astros, he was coming off an 0-for-4, two-strikeout performance Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles.

Despite the early-season struggles at the plate, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch never lost faith in Greene.

“We’re pretty early in the season, and I know we micro-analyze everything,” Hinch said following Monday's game (via Jason Beck of MLB.com). “I think Riley’s going to be fine. I think tonight’s a good example of that. He had some hard luck in the Baltimore series, but you started to see him hit the ball pretty hard, over 100 mph quite a bit. And he got some to go out of the ballpark tonight. He’s a big reason why we have a lot of belief in this team."

Even when he's not getting hits, Greene is starting to make hard contact with the ball again. In the pair of at-bats in which he didn't homer against the Astros, he sent two well-hit line drives to left field. In other words, he's starting to look like the Riley Greene of old – and the Tigers are going to need him to be just that as they continue their quest for an American League Central title.

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