After extended breather, J-Up nearly delivers

DETROIT — Justin Upton spent three days out of the Tigers lineup, working with hitting coach Wally Joyner on his swing. His best swing on his return will go down as a 420-foot double, and his latest initiation to the deep dimensions of Comerica Park.

“I was obviously shocked, but at the same time, you know what park you play in,” Upton said after his ninth-inning drive fell inches shy of a game-tying homer in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Red Sox. “It’s a big yard out there.”

Upton, signed by the Tigers last offseason, already had tough lessons on his new surroundings this season, from a ground-rule double to the deepest part of left-center field on May 17 to a long fly ball to right-center earlier this summer. For someone who had struggled to make consistent contact in his first season in the American League, he had more than his fair share of solid contact until the last few weeks, when a 1-for-31 slump prompted the Tigers to give him a break earlier this week.

He struck out twice in his return Saturday, but he also provided a ground ball through the middle for a leadoff single in the fifth inning off Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz. Still, not even three days of swing work …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com