DETROIT — Detroit is a city of comebacks. Look out beyond Comerica Park’s vast outfield to the downtown skyline, a mix of old and new, and it’s evident. So maybe it’s fitting that in a season of so many debuts at Comerica Park, one of the warmest receptions Saturday was for the one player returning.

Spencer Torkelson hadn’t played a game here since late May, when he went 0-for-8 in a doubleheader against the Pirates and was optioned to Triple-A Toledo a few days later on June 3. The Tigers called him back up Saturday morning, before their 4-0 win over the Yankees, and he received the loudest applause from the crowd of 38,110 when he was announced in the lineup.

“I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Torkelson said. “That means a lot to me. It definitely fired me up.”

The applause turned into an ovation as he rumbled into second base on a double in his first at-bat, and it became a roar later as he rounded second on his first triple since July 5, 2023.

“I thought the fans were really good to him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I appreciate that, the way they welcomed him back. They play the Welcome Back music, and he rewards everybody with a base hit. That would’ve been enough, just to get in the rhythm of things, but a couple really good picks on defense, the base hit to right, the walk at the end.”

It was Torkelson’s 324th game in the big leagues, but in some ways, it felt like his first.

“A little bit, yeah,” he said. “There’s definitely some good nerves in there. But, gosh, I missed this place. I missed these guys. I belong here. So it’s good to be back.”

That’s what the Tigers need heading into the stretch run. Torkelson’s callup wasn’t simply a feel-good story; it’s a vote that he has more to give this club and that he’s in better shape to give it. He’s not a finished product, nor was he finished when he was sent down. He’s a work in progress on a team that has a lot of them.

“Tork has done his part to go down and work hard,” Hinch explained before the game. “We’ve seen some good with him. We’ve also seen him work through a few things, and we felt like it was necessary to give him some runway here to see those adjustments at this level.”

The Tigers sent Torkelson to Toledo to work on his approach at the plate and his presence at first base. Saturday was a progress report of sorts. He saw 22 pitches over four plate appearances, and his only swing and miss was on a 3-2 slider from Yankees starter Carlos Rodón for a third-inning strikeout.

Both hits went to right-center field, an area he didn’t use enough early in the season as his pull rate rose and his center and opposite-field rates dropped. The double to the gap came on a 95.6 mph fastball from Rodón, the kind of pitch that troubled Torkelson early in the season. He hit just .174 off pitches at 95 mph or harder before he was sent down, according to Statcast.

“That’s huge,” Torkelson said. “That’s everything that I’ve done my entire life hitting. That’s what I was born to do, is use that right-center gap. And then if the timing’s right, I’ll use that left-center gap. That’s the approach I’m talking about. Just stick to that as many times as possible.”

Torkelson’s one time falling behind in the count, ironically, was on his only walk. He dug out of an 0-2 hole against lefty Tim Hill in the eighth by taking three pitches just outside the strike zone, fouling off a sinker just on the corner, then taking a sinker just off that for a seven-pitch walk.

Torkelson’s defense also showed improvement. He handled a couple of throws in the dirt confidently, reaching to dig them out. He covered first base quickly on a grounder to the right side and met reliever Tyler Holton at the bag.

It wasn’t a perfect return. After his triple, his decision to bolt for home on a pitch that got away from catcher Austin Wells resulted in an out at the plate when replays showed reliever Tim Mayza caught Torkelson’s arm underneath his slide. But it was good enough that he could at least smile about it.

“That’s the read,” Torkelson said. “I should’ve been in there. If my hand doesn’t get stuck in the dirt, it’s 5-0. … I’ll stick by that read.

“[Bench coach] George [Lombard] was taking a while on the phone and I was like, ‘Oh God, what did I just do?’ But you play, that stuff will happen sometimes.”