DETROIT  — Delmon Young found out he was traded from Minnesota to Detroit, hours before the Twins were scheduled to play the Tigers.

With no better way to travel to the ballpark, he hitched a ride on the team bus with what was by then his former club.

“I’m not going to sit in a 30-minute cab ride,” Young said. “Now, I think it would be awkward if I took the team bus back.”

The Tigers are the latest team hoping Young can finally live up to expectations — and he got off to a fine start Monday night, hitting a 3-1 pitch from Francisco Liriano over the left-field fence for a home run in his first Detroit at-bat.

Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Young was traded Monday for a minor league pitcher and a player to be named. Detroit immediately put the former No. 1 draft pick in the lineup, batting third and playing left field.

Young has been bothered by injuries this year and was hitting .266 going into Monday’s game. He had his best season in 2010, hitting .298 with 21 homers.

The first-place Tigers add another potentially big bat to their roster as they try to hold on in the AL Central. They led Cleveland by 2½ games heading into Monday night’s action.

The Twins were 11½ games back.

“We still haven’t scored runs on that consistent basis that you keep looking for, and sometimes just that extra little piece — maybe he gets hot at this time,” Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “We know he has the capabilities to do that.”