Parker Meadows sparks the Tigers in his season debut after an arm injury

CHICAGO (AP) — Parker Meadows had a big smile on his face. He had waited a long time for Monday night.

Meadows sparked the Detroit Tigers in his season debut after being sidelined by a nerve issue in his upper right arm. Playing center field and leading off for Detroit once again, he had two hits, scored three times and made a terrific catch in a 13-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

“I think I speak for everybody when I say that we missed watching him play baseball, especially for us,” designated hitter Kerry Carpenter said. “He’s super special.”

The major league-leading Tigers activated Meadows from the 60-day injured list. Infielder/outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy was optioned to Triple-A Toledo after Sunday’s 1-0 victory at Kansas City, and right-hander Ryan Cusick was designated for assignment.

“I didn’t sleep much last night, just thinking about the day,” Meadows said. “Excited to be here.”

Meadows got right to work in his first game back. He robbed Andrew Benintendi of a run-scoring hit with a diving catch for the last out of the first.

Meadows doubled and scored on Gleyber Torres’ single in the fourth. He raced around the bases on a leadoff triple in the sixth and scored on Torres’ grounder to shortstop. He also walked and scored in a three-run eighth.

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“What he was able to do there at the top of the order and the defense that we know he brings out there and just what he’s able to do, it’s good to have him back out there,” Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty said.

Meadows was injured in Detroit’s spring training opener Feb. 22 on a throw from center field. He appeared in eight rehab games in the minors beginning on May 21, batting .259 with a homer and five RBIs.

“He’s a glue guy, and the guys love him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He played at an incredibly high level for us on both sides of the ball, and we have missed him. Our guys have done a really good job of kind of picking up the pieces and being able to adjust to life without him, but we’re better with him.”

Meadows, 25, hit .244 with nine homers and 28 RBIs in 82 games for Detroit last season. He also batted .269 (7 for 26) in seven postseason games, helping the Tigers reach the AL Division Series.

The road back to the majors took longer than Meadows expected when he first got hurt.

“It was tough, but just put my head down and worked every day,” he said. “We’ve got a really good training staff here. Keep a good head on my shoulders and they got me right.”

One of the last steps for Meadows before rejoining Detroit was trying a couple of hard throws during his rehab stint.

“At first it was a little eh,” he said. “But the more throws I made, the better it felt. It feels good now.”

The return of Meadows gives Hinch another option on a versatile Tigers team that is 22-9 in its last 31 games.

Javier Báez, who played an impressive center field while Meadows was out, started at shortstop before moving to second base in the seventh inning of the opener of a four-game series at Chicago. Hinch said Báez is going to move around the diamond.

“I told Javy, ‘Don’t take the outfield glove (and) throw it away. You’re still going to need it,’” Hinch said.

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