The Tigers finally stopped the bleeding Tuesday night, and now they get a chance to turn one win into a series victory.
Detroit beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 at Comerica Park to snap a six-game losing streak, with Jackson Jobe working through an outing that wasn’t exactly crisp but still gave the Tigers enough. The bullpen helped shut the door, the Rays’ offense stayed quiet, and Max Clark supplied the big swing with a two-run homer.
Now Detroit turns to Troy Melton in Wednesday’s series finale. The right-hander has stumbled a bit after a strong run, even though his recent rough patch has been more about traffic than damage.
Over his last two starts, Melton has given up six runs - only three earned - across 10 innings. He’s allowed 14 hits, including two homers, and four walks while striking out seven.
That recent stretch stands in contrast to what Melton had been doing in 13 of his previous 14 appearances. And he’s already shown he can handle Tampa Bay.
When he faced the Rays in St. Petersburg on June 3, Melton delivered his longest outing of the summer: eight innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits, one homer and two walks while striking out five in a 7-2 Tigers win.
The Rays will counter with Freddy Peralta, who arrives with his own problems after being traded from the New York Mets to Tampa Bay. The 30-year-old has been hit hard in four starts with his new club, posting a 7.17 ERA and 5.76 FIP over 21 1/3 innings. In that span, he’s given up 23 hits, five home runs and six walks, while striking out 16, hitting two batters and taking two losses.
Peralta has already seen Detroit this season. Back on May 12 in Queens, he worked six innings of two-run ball against the Tigers, allowing seven hits, one homer and one walk while striking out seven in a 10-2 Mets win.
The numbers suggest a fairly even matchup in the middle game of the series. Melton has thrown 90.0 innings across 15 games with a 21.4 K%, 7.9 BB%, 43.3 GB%, 3.84 FIP and 1.5 fWAR. Peralta has logged 135.0 innings over 26 games, with a 21.5 K%, 9.0 BB%, 39.6 GB%, 4.65 FIP and 1.0 fWAR.
Detroit is also chasing its first series win since taking two of three from the Cleveland Guardians.
In Other News...
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Clark has already reached the majors and has gotten off to an encouraging start, while Hope is continuing his climb at Double-A Erie after coming over in a trade. MLB Pipelines latest ranking puts Detroits outfield group seventh overall, with Clark and Hope both landing among its top-30 prospects, which gives the Tigers a deeper wave of talent than many fans may have realized. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Fans Noticed A Pregame Moment That Hit Differently At Comerica
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The connection landed especially hard after news that Dolly Parton had passed away peacefully at age 80 in Nashville, according to her publicist. With tributes already spreading beyond music circles, hearing one of her signature songs inside Comerica Park gave Tigers fans a reminder that the game-day experience can sometimes catch the mood of the moment in a way thats bigger than baseball. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Farm System Just Revealed A Very Different Future
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MLB Pipeline ranked the Tigers seventh among farm systems for pitching prospects on Aug. 25, with 12 pitchers in the top 30 and five in the top 10, including River Ryan, Ben Jacobs, Cameron Flukey, Kash Mayfield and Brady Smith. Some of those names are working through injuries, while others have turned heads in the minors, giving Detroit a deeper pool of options than it has had in some recent seasons, even if the full shape of that future is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]