DETROIT – On the day Justin Verlander announced he’ll retire at the end of the season, Troy Melton continued his push as the Tigers’ next promising young starter, striking out nine batters over 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a 6-1 win over the Athletics on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
The Tigers have won seven of their past eight games as they continue their push to climb back into the American League postseason picture.
Melton (5-1) fell two outs shy of a sixth quality start in his past seven outings. He has allowed two earned runs on nine hits over 23 2/3 innings in his last four outings, striking out 27 batters over that span. His lone run on Wednesday was an unearned tally on a Zach McKinstry throwing error at shortstop, so Melton’s ERA dropped to 1.82. It is the lowest in the American League among qualified starters since his return from the injured list on May 24 from right elbow inflammation that began during Spring Training.
His 2.19 ERA as a starter since his debut last summer is the lowest by a Tiger through his first 12 starts since Mark Fidrych posted a 1.62 ERA in the same span during his incredible rookie season in 1976.
Melton was one of several young Tigers pitchers who interacted with and observed Verlander in Spring Training. He was also one of Verlander’s early chess opponents in the clubhouse. With Verlander set to retire, and Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty on track for free agency, Melton has a chance to become a front-line starter for the long term, teaming up with Framber Valdez, Keider Montero and Jackson Jobe to form the backbone of Detroit’s rotation next season.
Melton held the Athletics to two singles and two doubles on Wednesday. He struck out nine in a 13-batter span from the second inning through the fifth, including A’s leadoff hitter Zack Gelof on a 98 mph heater in the third and fifth innings. He used his cutter for three strikeouts in the fourth, pitching around McKinstry’s error to strand runners at the corners.
Detroit supported Melton by posting runs early and late off Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs, who had held the Tigers to one earned run over 17 innings in their previous three meetings. All-Star Riley Greene’s first-inning RBI single opened the scoring, but Springs recovered to strand the bases loaded. Jake Rogers, pinch-hitting for an injured Dillon Dingler, hit a two-run homer the next inning to break the game open, then singled and scored on Spencer Torkelson’s three-run homer in the fifth.