Melton leads Tigers in dominant 1st showing after Deadline

SEATTLE -- For a second, Troy Melton looked like he was channeling his inner Tarik Skubal.

The Tigers’ young starter has earned a reputation among teammates and coaches as a cool customer on the mound, rarely showing emotion -- good or bad -- regardless of situation. But after fanning Seattle sluggers Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh to strand runners at first and second in the fourth inning Tuesday, Melton slipped out of character long enough to pound his glove and shout.

It was as close as Melton gets to a Skubal mound celebration, even if it wasn’t meant in tribute.

“Happy they didn’t score,” Melton smiled. “I think I got bailed out a little bit there in the Naylor at-bat. Just trying to make some better pitches to Cal. I think he had some chase on some not-as-great pitches, too. Just happy it worked out, honestly.”

Nobody with the Tigers is asking for Melton to replace Skubal -- or Casey Mize, for that matter. Nobody with the Tigers is asking for pity that Skubal and Mize are gone, either. All they want is to keep winning with the guys they have and get back in the American League playoff chase anyway.

“You lose a couple friends, good competitors, guys that are going to go out there and give you seven great innings,” Zach McKinstry said after Tuesday’s 8-0 win over the Mariners. “But you just swallow the pill and you try to move on, make new friends and enjoy it.”

Tuesday’s win, coupled with losses from the White Sox, Guardians and Twins, moved Detroit to within 4 1/2 games of the AL Central lead and a game and a half of Cleveland for the final AL Wild Card spot. Detroit leapfrogged Seattle in the Wild Card standings, moved even with the Orioles and crept within a half-game of Minnesota and Texas.

The Tigers are 4-0 since president of baseball operations Scott Harris decided their then-dwindling postseason chances couldn’t justify keeping Skubal and Mize and letting them walk as free agents for comp picks, let alone adding at the deadline. No one would be happier to be proven wrong than Harris, who traded Jack Flaherty in 2024 and saw his team ride a hot stretch run into the postseason and to within a game of the ALCS.

Their return to the playoffs last year went in opposite fashion: a dominant start to the season and a crushing stretch run before they salvaged a Wild Card berth and got to another winner-take-all Division Series game -- which ultimately went 15 innings here at T-Mobile Park. Their first game back here since that marathon Game 5 was a reminder that this season isn’t over.

• Harris explains Tigers' decision to sell, why they took Dodgers' Skubal offer

"This is still the organization and we still have a lot of the same players that in 2024 completely flipped the script,” Harris said. “The Gritty Tigs got hot in August and they completely flipped the script of the season.

“Our record right now does not define us, does not define ultimately what this season will tell us about this group. There's still a lot I really like about this team. I think you've seen it over the past few weeks. We've made some internal additions that have made us more athletic. Our at-bat quality has gotten a lot better. We are riding some real momentum. There's some young starters that are coming into their own in our rotation right now that are making our future really bright but also making our present really bright.”

Heading that rotation now is Melton, whose 1.58 ERA since his season debut May 24 is lower than any Major League starter except Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski in that span. Only Shoei Ohtani (1.47), Cristopher Sanchez (1.47) and Cam Schlittler (1.50) had a lower ERA through their first 12 starts this season.

According to Opta, Melton is the first Major League pitcher since earned runs became an official stat in 1913 to post a sub-2.00 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP through his first 16 career stats while pitching to 13 team victories.

Tuesday marked Melton’s second consecutive outing of seven scoreless innings, again needing fewer than 100 pitches. Singles from Dominic Canzone in the first inning, Randy Arozarena leading off the fourth and Raleigh in the seventh comprised all of Seattle’s hits off Melton, who walked two batters and struck out four.

Melton is pitching like another potential ace, even if he isn’t thinking like one.

“To be honest, I haven’t thought about it like that at all,” Melton shrugged. “I’m just trying to get people out.”

Melton was supported by an offense that crossed the eight-run mark for the sixth straight game, tying a franchise record set in 1922 and matched in 1927.