Miguel Cabrera
May 28, 2010
Cabrera truly was a one-man show in this game. He drove in all four of the Tigers runs but it wasn’t enough as the A’s defeated Detroit, 5-4 at Comerica Park. Cabby’s first two dingers came off Ben Sheets and the last one was off Andrew Bailey. His last shot came in the bottom of the ninth.
Dmitri Young
April 4, 2005
The only player to hit his three homers on Opening Day, “Da Meat Hook” added his name to the short list of players in baseball history to do so. Behind the fantastic performance by Young and the pitching of Jeremy Bonderman, the Tigers won the game at home in Comerica Park against the Royals, 11-2. Young hit the first two homers off former Tiger Jose Lima, and he also added a single for a four-hit game.
Carlos Pena
May 19, 2003
Not so unbelievably, in a season when the Tigers lost 119 games, they lost this one in which Pena belted three homers. The left-handed hitting first baseman with the sweet swing hit his homers in the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th innings, the last one giving the Tigers a 9-7 lead. But Cleveland’s Casey Blake homered in the bottom of the 7th and the Tribe went on to win the game, 10-7. Pena would hit 18 homers in ’03.
Bobby Higginson
June 24, 2000
Nearly three years to the day that he had hit three homers against the Mets, Higginson did it again, this time off the Indians at Jacobs Field. Higgy drove in six runs in Detroit’s 14-8 win the nightcap of a twinbill.
Bobby Higginson
June 30, 1997
In a 14-0 laugher over the Mets in inter-league play, Higgy went deep against Mark Clark (twice) and Joe Crawford. He drove in seven runs, walked twice, and scored four times. His final blast, coming in the 7th inning, traveled to deep right-center into the upper deck bleachers.
Cecil Fielder
April 16, 1996
Prince’s dad is the only Detroit batter to hit three homers in a game three times. Fielder drove in five runs and Tigers catcher John Flaherty hit two homers himself as the Bengals defeated the Jays at the SkyDome, 13-8 behind 18 hits.
Cecil Fielder
June 6, 1990
Exactly one month after hitting three in Toronto, “Big Daddy” did it again, this time against the Indians in Cleveland Stadium. He hit each of his homers to a different part of the park – left field corner, center field, and right field. Fielder would hit 51 homers for the season.
Cecil Fielder
May 6, 1990
Despite Fielder’s three homers (one against David Wells, the other two off Jimmy Key) and two homers by Chet Lemon, the Tigers lost this game to the Blue Jays in Toronto, 11-7.
Bill Madlock
June 28, 1987
In a thrilling game at Tiger Stadium, “Mad Dog” blasted three homers, the last one as the final blow in three consecutive Detroit homers in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6 (the others were by pinch-hitter Johnny Grubb and Matt Nokes). The Orioles and Tigs battled into the 11th when Alan Trammell singled in Nokes for the game-winner.
Larry Herndon
May 18, 1982
This was Herndon’s first season with the Tigers after coming over in a deal with the San Francisco Giants. In this game at Tiger Stadium, Herndon hit homers in the first, third, and fifth innings, driving in seven runs. He had also hit a homer in his final at-bat the previous evening, giving him homers in four straight plate appearances. Despite his heroics, the game was tied in the 7th until Lance PArrish delivered the game-winning hit. Herndon’s third homer was one of the longest ever hit that stayed in Tiger Stadium. He hit it into the upper deck bleachers in straightaway center field, more than 440 feet to the fence and 35-50 feet farther into the crowd.
Bill Freehan
August 9, 1971
In a wild game at Fenway Park, Freehan lofted two homers over the Green Monster in left and another into the center field bleachers. All three shots were solo jobs, the last one in the ninth inning tying the score at 11. But the Tigers lost the game in the home half of the 9th when Rico Petrocelli singled in the winning run off Ron Perranoski. Willie Horton also hit two homers in the game and Aurelio Rodriguez added another.
Willie Horton
June 9, 1970
Willie the Wonder powered the Tigers past the Brewers, driving in seven runs in Detroit’s 8-3 victory at Tiger Stadium. His blasts came of Skip Lockwood and Bob Locker.
Steve Boros
August 6, 1962
Boros had only hit five home runs in his career entering this season. A heralded infield prospect, he never became the star some predicted he’d be. On this day he hit three solo homers, two off fastballer Sam McDowell, but the Indians still beat the Tigers, 6-5 in Cleveland. Detroit traded Boros (who hit 16 homers in ’62) to the Cubs after the season.
Rocky Colavito
July 5, 1962
The Tigers lost this game to the, 7-6 at Cleveland Stadium against Colavito’s former team. His last homer, in the seventh, tied the game, but the Tribe won it with a rally in the bottom of the ninth.
Rocky Colavito
August 27, 1961 (Game #2)
he probably hit his three homers farther than any other Detroit batter ever did in their three-homer game. Each of Colavito’s blasts were deep shots to left field in Griffith Stadium in Washington. He hit his last two off Dick Sisler, the son of Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler. This was the second game of a doubleheader, and Colavito had hit a solo homer in the first game. His homer barrage that day gave Rocky 38 homers on the season.
Charlie Maxwell
May 3, 1959 (Game #2)
Yes, this was a Sunday afternoon game at Broggs Stadium – fitting seeing as how Maxwell was known for hitting homers on the sabbath. He hit his three homers against the Yankees and drove in six of the Tigers runs in a 8-2 victory.
Al Kaline
April 17, 1955
This was the coming out party season for Kaline. Just 20 years old and in his second full season, the Tiger right fielder smacked his homers against the Kansas City Athletics at Briggs Stadium in a Sunday afternoon game. He hit them off three different pitchers, all of them to left or left-center field. He went on to become the youngest batting champion in league history that season.
Pat Mullin
June 26, 1949 (Game #2)
A veteran outfielder who missed nearly five seasons while serving in World War II, the 31-year old Mullin used his short left-handed stroke to launch a trio of homers into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers won the game, 12-4.
Rudy York
September 1, 1941 (Game #1)
The Tiger slugger hit homers against three different Browns hurlers in the Tigs 9-5 win at Briggs Stadium in the opener of a doubleheader. He victimized Bob Harris, George Caster, and Archie McKain. Higgins, who had belted three homers in a game the year prior, also homered in this game.
Pinky Higgins
May 20, 1940
The Detroit third baseman drove in seven runs in the game, which Detroit won over Boston, 10-7 at Briggs Stadium. His first two homers came off future Hall of Famer Lefty Grove. He hit his last homer off reliever Jack Wilson. The outburst doubled Higgins’ season home run total to six.
Ty Cobb
May 5, 1925
In a famous game from his stellar career, Cobb blasted three homers against the Browns in St. Louis at Sportsman’s Park. Prior to the game he told reporters who were asking him about Babe Ruth’s home run exploits that it was simple to hit for power, that anyone could do it. He bragged that he would, for the first time in his career, go out and try to hit the ball for a home run. He went 6-for-6 with a double, the three homers, and five RBI. His double just missed also being a home run by a few feet. The next day he hit two more homers and went 3-for-6 with six more RBI. His five homers in consecutive games remains an MLB record.