Detroit Tigers fans were treated to a pitcher’s duel, but probably not the kind they wanted to see.
Wasting a quality start from righty Troy Melton, the Tigers (34-47) kicked off a four-game series with a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday, June 25, at Comerica Park in Detroit. Astros starter Tatsuya Imai struck out 10 batters through six shutout innings, taking advantage of a punchless Tigers lineup as Melton was throwing a gem of his own.
Melton pitched the first five innings without having allowed an Astros (40-43) batter to reach base, but center fielder Taylor Trammell broke up the perfect game with a one-out solo home run off Melton in the sixth.
The Astros scrapped home a run in the top of the ninth for a 2-0 edge that proved key.
Catcher Dillon Dingler blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to bring the Tigers within 2-1, and left fielder Riley Green followed with a line drive single on the next pitch. But third baseman Colt Keith grounded into a 3-6 double play to end the game for a third straight loss.
On the mound
Melton began his day striking out shortstop Jeremy Peña and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, finishing the inning by getting third baseman Isaac Paredes to fly out to shortstop Zach McKinstry. He set the side down on 12 pitches, all fastballs, topping off at 99.5 mph on his last pitch of the inning.
Melton, who typically throws his four-seamer and cutter 56% of the time per Statcast, threw those two pitches for a combined 68% of his pitches (50 of 88), tossing a breaking ball only 13 times.
Astros first baseman Christian Walker was the first to see Melton’s curveball and slider in the second inning. Melton struck out Walker and two more batters over the next two innings, though a 22-pitch second inning elevated his pitch count to 49 after three. He had five strikeouts after three innings, tying his season-high after just nine batters faced, and recorded his sixth on left fielder Joey Loperfido as the last out of the fifth inning.
Melton notched 75 pitches through five innings; if he had stayed perfect through the sixth, he likely wasn’t going the distance through all nine.
He allowed two hits in six innings, one earned run, zero walks and six strikeouts. He threw 88 pitches and was replaced by Kyle Finnegan to begin the seventh.
Both Finnegan and lefty Tyler Holton pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, respectively, but closer Kenley Jansen allowed one run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Paredes, scoring Peña from third.
It ended up the winning run.
At the plate
Tigers batters had nothing for Imai.
The Japanese rookie held them hitless until a two-out single in the fourth inning from Greene. Imai entered with a 6.15 ERA over 40 innings pitched, but still flummoxed a lineup that has produced very little over the past three games.
Imai, who struck out a season-high 11 batters in his previous start against the Cleveland Guardians, finished Thursday’s game with 10 strikeouts in six innings. The Tigers, meanwhile, only managed three baserunners against the righty and failed to put a runner in scoring position while Imai was on the mound.
It didn’t get better in the seventh inning for the Tigers, with Greene, Keith and first baseman Spencer Torkelson going down in order against righty AJ Blubaugh. Rookie Hao-Yu Lee managed a two-out single in the eighth, the Tigers’ third hit, but was stranded at first on an inning-ending groundout from designated hitter Kevin McGonigle.
Dingler’s ninth-inning home run was his team-leading 19th of the season, a few hours after learning he was passed over as a starter in the All-Star Game.
Next up
Tigers righty Keider Montero (3-5, 3.68 ERA) will face off Friday night against Astros righty Spencer Arrighetti (7-3, 3.13 ERA) in the second game of the four-game weekend series. The game will take place at Comerica Park, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers waste Troy Melton gem, fooled by Astros’ Tatsuya Imai in 2-1 loss
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
