Buddy Kennedy makes big plays — and wins bet with Mike Trout — in stint on Detroit Tigers

Infielder Buddy Kennedy got the call while playing Call of Duty with pitchers Trey Wingenter and Brenan Hanifee. He was told to keep his phone nearby after playing a baseball game with Triple-A Toledo, and sure enough, the Detroit Tigers called him and promoted him to replace an injured infielder on the roster.

"We were finishing this last game," Kennedy said, "and then they called me."

That was the night of April 19.

Since then, Kennedy has blasted a key home run on offense, made a fantastic play on defense and won a bet with Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout. The 25-year-old Kennedy has just 13 plate appearances across six games with the Tigers this season, but hasn't wasted his third opportunity in the big leagues.

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"It's been really fun," Kennedy said. "I've been up to the big leagues twice, now this is my third time. Whenever I'm called on, I'm trying to enjoy it and do the best I can. I've had some good luck so far. I'll try to keep that going. Other than that, I'm enjoying it and having fun with all these guys."

The highlight of Kennedy's first six games with the Tigers took place April 21 in his second game and first start, when he launched a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning against Minnesota Twins right-hander Louie Varland at Target Field. Kennedy tagged a middle-middle cutter to left field, extending the Tigers' lead to 4-0 and chasing Varland from his outing in an eventual 6-1 Tigers win.

It was Kennedy's second home run of his MLB career in his 42nd of 46 games, spanning 136 plate appearances. (He hit his first homer on Father's Day in 2022 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.)

"I saw him really well," Kennedy said. "I really saw it out of his hand early. I had a great first at-bat (for a sacrifice fly). I just tried to stay tight to my zone. The second at-bat came around, and I was just looking for something out over the plate. ... It was like middle-in, middle-middle, put a good swing on it, and it went over."

The homer off Varland meant Kennedy hit the jackpot off the field, as well, because he won a friendly wager with the best player in baseball, and by winning the bet, Kennedy gets to hunt from Trout's tree stand in the fall.

Both Kennedy and Trout — a three-time MVP and an 11-time All-Star — grew up in Millville, New Jersey. They're the only two players in the history of Millville Senior High School to be selected in the MLB draft. Trout went No. 25 overall to the Angels in 2009; Kennedy went No. 142 overall to the Diamondbacks in 2017.

In the offseason, Kennedy and Trout like to go hunting together.

"He actually texted me in our hunting group chat saying, 'in your first start, if you hit a homer or have three hits,' I get to sit in his deer stand at his house," Kennedy said. "So I'm going to call him and tell him, 'you can't back out of that now.'"

Kennedy has the text message saved on his phone.

"I have proof," he said.

The big plays didn't stop there.

Kennedy, who previously entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the late innings, stood at third base Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Tigers were protecting a two-run lead on the way to a 4-2 win with right-handed reliever Alex Lange on the mound in the eighth inning.

Lange threw a below-the-zone curveball to Randy Arozarena.

He hit a chopper to third base; Kennedy charged the ball.

"I know Arozarena is really fast," Kennedy said. "When I saw him hit it, I saw the high hop, and as infielders, were supposed to charge it. If I could somehow get a grip on the ball and have enough to get it over there, it would be a nice play. I blacked out running to the ball."

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Kennedy bare-handed the ball with his right hand and threw a laser to outstretched first baseman Mark Canha. Kennedy threw out the speedy Arozarena by about half a step for the second out, pumped his fist and unleashed all of his emotions.

"Let's go!" Kennedy screamed.

His teammates cheered in the dugout.

His pitcher was amped up on the mound.

"You dog!" Lange said. "You dog!"

Kennedy enjoyed the moment.

"I just did my job doing the best I can," Kennedy said. "I try to get everybody out when the ball is hit to me. A lot of my buddies back home texted me. They were like, 'I didn't know you had that in the tank.' I'm like, 'I didn't know either.' It was a great play."

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After six games, Kennedy is hitting .200 (2-for-10) with one home run, two walks and four strikeouts. He has played 22 innings at second base and two innings at third base. The Tigers claimed him off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals during spring training.

Kennedy is a .205 hitter with two homers, 14 walks and 33 strikeouts in his 46-game MLB career.

It's still unclear if Kennedy is going to stick around, especially once both Andy Ibáñez and Gio Urshela return from the injured list, but make no mistake, the other kid from Millville, New Jersey, has impressed the Tigers.

"He's been prepared and ready to go," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's a baseball rat, and he's into it. He's a fun player to break in. He's younger than you'd think because we haven't grown up with him. He still doesn't have a ton of experience, so his routines are getting formed and the newness of being in this organization is still there, but he's done everything we've asked when called upon."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Buddy Kennedy makes plays, wins bet with Mike Trout