Melton (forearm tightness) exits game, could be done for season

CHICAGO – The insult of the Tigers’ mathematical elimination from postseason contention met the injury of a key starter in Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the White Sox. Right-hander Troy Melton left the game with forearm tightness during a three-run fourth inning that turned the game on a rainy, windy evening at Rate Field.

Melton, one of the bright young stars of the Tigers rotation and a potential ace in the wake of the Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize trades, battled command for most of the day, but didn’t feel tightness until warming up for the fourth inning after striking out Munetaka Murakami and Andrew Benintendi on breaking balls to end the third.

“I kind of expected it to go away, and it just never did,” Melton said. “It just got achy and tight on me pretty quick, never got any better as the inning progressed. It just stayed tight.”

Melton tried subtly stretching his arm during the inning to no avail, shaking his arm at one point after a two-out pitch to Sam Antonacci. His actions drew a mound visit from catcher Eduardo Valencia, but Melton told him he was fine. Antonacci’s two-run double brought pitching coach Chris Fetter out for a mound visit, at which point Melton admitted to the tightness.

“Fett went out to just calm down the inning and the moment,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “And then when Fett turned around, that’s when I went out.”

Assistant athletic trainer Kelly Rhoades soon followed. Melton left without throwing a warm-up pitch and went back to the clubhouse.

The 25-year-old Melton missed the first two months of the season with right elbow inflammation suffered in Spring Training, but has been a workhorse since returning in late May. Melton said he doesn’t believe the tightness is related to the earlier injury, but the Tigers will have him undergo further examination as a precaution.

Melton was already expected to be eased into the offseason, possibly with a piggyback outing this coming week, to help open innings for other pitchers on their way back, including River Ryan, Jack Flaherty and Justin Verlander. Sunday’s scare could well end Melton’s season as a precaution, even if tests come back OK.

What was supposed to be a 1:10 p.m. CT getaway game became a 5 p.m. start thanks to all-day rain that soaked the Windy City. Melton said he got ready a couple of times when it looked like the weather might relent enough to start, only to get pushed back. The final go-ahead came about 45 minutes before first pitch.

“Timing-wise, it was a little difficult,” Melton said. “I don’t want to blame that on anything, obviously, but it was more difficult than a normal rain delay in my opinion.”