SAN DIEGO — Kevin McGonigle quickly proved that the Detroit Tigers made the right call by putting him on their roster, becoming the third-youngest player with four or more hits on Opening Day in the last 100 major league seasons.
“What a debut,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He can hit.”
The 21-year-old rookie hit the first big league pitch he saw for a bases-loaded, two-run double in the four-run first inning against San Diego on Thursday. He kept on going, getting hits in his next two at-bats as well as scoring his first big league run.
He added a fourth hit in the ninth inning and finished 4-for-5, with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“I was nervous, but it’s weird — I feel like right when I started my load to hit, it just went away,” McGonigle told reporters after the game. “I felt great out there. Very confident. Looking to keep that same mindset going.”
McGonigle, ESPN’s No. 2 prospect for the 2026 season, was the youngest Tigers player named to an Opening Day roster since Omar Infante in 2003.
“Everyone’s been right by my side,” McGonigle said. “If I have any questions, everyone’s telling me to go to them. This is the team to be on right now, and I’m so happy I get to share this with these guys.”
Ken Griffey Jr. (20 years, 139 days) and Delino DeShields Jr. (21 years, 84 days), who both did it in 1990, were the only two players younger than McGonigle to have four or more hits on Opening Day in the last 100 seasons.
McGonigle kept the line moving as the Tigers roughed up Nick Pivetta in support of two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
“[I told myself] it’s just another game,” McGonigle said. “I kept that mindset, and I’m looking forward to keeping that going.”
Several family members were in attendance and McGonigle planned to give each of his parents a ball that was used in the game.
Batting sixth, he came up for the first time as a big leaguer with the bases loaded, one out and the Tigers up 1-0 on a sunny, 74-degree afternoon at Petco Park. He drove the first pitch he saw down the right-field line to bring in Colt Keith and Riley Greene for a 3-0 lead.
“He won’t be as nervous as that at-bat, and if that’s the nervous version of him, we’re in for a fun year,” Hinch said. “I like the fact he was aggressive on his pitch. Obviously a big hit to open up the game a little bit and give us some breathing room. That set the tone for a really good day for him and for us.”
McGonigle followed that with a fly ball off the top of the right-field wall in the third and hustled into second for another double to move Spencer Torkelson to third base. They both scored on Parker Meadows’ single to left field.
According to ESPN Research, McGonigle is the first Tigers player in the last 80 seasons to get an extra-base hit in each of first two plate appearances.
He beat out an infield single to shortstop in the fifth and was aboard for Dillon Dingler’s homer that made it 8-0.
McGonigle, who started at third base, finally made an out in the seventh when he popped up to third baseman Manny Machado in shallow left.
A first-round pick in the 2023 draft, McGonigle had a hot spring that allowed him to skip Triple-A after playing in just 46 games in Double-A last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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