Tigers Pay Tribute to Pirates Manager, Fan Favorite Don Kelly Tuesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nick Meyer | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 2:28 PM ET

The Detroit Tigers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 7-3 at Comerica Park on Tuesday as manager AJ Hinch's team improved its MLB best wins total to 47 on the season.

The Tigers' win included a strong pitching performance from starter Casey Mize, who went seven innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits.

The Tigers got three innings of scoreless relief work from Chase Lee, Tommy Kahnle and Brennan Hanifee as their bullpen shut the door on manager Don Kelly's team.

Kelly, a longtime Tigers fan favorite from his days with the team as a player under former manager Jim Leyland, didn't get the result he wanted, but he was treated to a special honor given to him by the Tigers franchise before the game.

"Welcome back to Detroit, Don Kelly! The Tigers paid tribute to their former utility man, who returns to Comerica Park as the Pirates manager," WXYZ Channel 7 reporter Brad Galli wrote on X Tuesday.

He shared a photo of the exciting moment for Tigers fans as Kelly was honored.

Welcome back to Detroit, Don Kelly! The Tigers paid tribute to their former utility man, who returns to Comerica Park as the Pirates manager pic.twitter.com/8pJlS9MJn2
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 17, 2025

"Gene Lamont too. He was a very important cog," one fan said of the Pirates' special assistant to Kelly and former Jim Leyland assistant.

"'Donnie Kelly Baby!' - Tigers broadcaster extraordinaire Jim Price," another fan said, quoting the former Tigers radio voice with a halo face emoji, who passed away on August 7, 2023 in Washington Township, Michigan.