The Detroit Tigers have heated up over the past week, winning six of their last seven games. They will host the struggling Athletics in the middle contest of a three-game series on Wednesday.
Detroit won the series opener 6-2 on Tuesday, with ace Tarik Skubal recording the victory after striking out nine in five innings of one-run ball.
Troy Melton, the Tigers’ scheduled starter on Wednesday, has pitched like a future ace since returning from the injured list in late May. He had been sidelined due to right elbow inflammation.
The right-hander has delivered quality starts in five of his past six outings, including the past three. During the latter stretch, Melton has given up just two runs and five hits in 18 1/3 innings.
The last time out, Melton (4-1, 2.05 ERA) held the New York Yankees scoreless over 6 1/3 innings while notching a season-best seven strikeouts in a no-decision on July 1.
“I think I did pretty good. Definitely some deep counts,” Melton said. “Less balls in play early in counts, I don’t remember too many super fast ones. I think I did a better job of getting to the bottom of the zone and they were just taking them a lot of the time. Just the way I pitched led to more deep counts. I actually think I executed pretty well.”
When Melton has given up runs, it usually has been with no one on base. Among the 10 runs he has allowed all season, the past seven came on solo homers.
Melton, who made his major league debut last season, pitched three scoreless innings against the Athletics the only time he faced them, on Aug. 26, 2025.
The A’s will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak, and they have lost eight of their past nine games.
Melton will be opposed by Jeffrey Springs (3-8, 5.79), who hasn’t recorded a victory since April 14. He is coming off a disastrous June in which he surrendered 30 earned runs in 27 innings (10.00 ERA) and served up 12 home runs.
Overall, Springs has yielded 24 long balls, the most in the majors. In his latest outing, on June 30 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Springs gave up six runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He also walked four batters, tying his season high.
“Still kind of processing it,” Spring said after that contest. “Too many walks, for starters. That’s too good of a team to give up free passes. I feel like the homer to (Tommy) Edman, slider kind of on the outer half, he put a good swing on it. I tip my cap. But the walk before is what’s frustrating. The walks in the first (and third) inning scored.”
Springs has lost his past eight decisions, the longest streak by an A’s pitcher within a single season since 2012, when Tyson Ross dropped eight straight decisions.
However, the A’s continue to hope Springs can turn things around rather than removing him from the rotation.
“You want to take the ball every fifth day,” Springs said. “Right now, it’s a little tough to see that (value), because you want to put together quality outings and give us a chance to win. I just don’t feel like I’m doing that. But, I take a lot of pride in putting in the work in the offseason to take the ball every five days. I’m going to continue to do that and try to figure it out.”
–Field Level Media
