Athletics at Tigers
Given their stunning success against the Detroit Tigers over the past two-plus years, the Oakland Athletics may be ready to petition Major League Baseball for permission to move to the American League Central. The Athletics have won 14 in a row overall over the Tigers and nine straight at Comerica Park entering the third of a four-game set in Detroit on Saturday afternoon.
After trampling the Tigers 17-3 in the series opener, Oakland continued to feast on the Tigers as Mark Canha and Chad Pinder belted two-run homers in Friday's 7-2 rout. Khris Davis collected three hits and drove in a run for the Athletics, who had lost 11 of 12 on the road before arriving in the Motor City. It has been a disastrous homestand for Detroit, which has been outscored 48-11 during a season high-tying five-game losing streak. Miguel Cabrera had a pair of doubles to snap a 10-game drought without an extra-base hit and moved into a tie with Lou Gehrig for 63rd on the all-time hits list with 2,721.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Oakland), FS Detroit
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Daniel Mengden (0-1, 6.75 ERA) vs. Tigers LH Matthew Boyd (4-3, 3.15)
Mengden struggled in his season debut versus Cleveland on Sunday, taking the loss after giving up two of his four runs in the first inning along with five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings. “He recovered really well," Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters. "Got off to a really slow start ... got a little tired there at the end in the sixth, but I thought he recovered really well and kept us in the game.” Mengden made his lone career start against Detroit in September 2017 and tossed seven scoreless innings for the win.
Boyd had his string of seven consecutive quality starts snapped last time out against Houston, lasting a season-low four innings and giving up three runs on five hits to take the loss. Although he surrendered two homers in a game for the first time, the 28-year-old won his previous two turns by allowing a combined three runs over 13 innings and has yet to yield more than three earned runs in a start. Robbie Grossman is 7-for-24 with a pair of homers and six RBIs against Boyd, who hasn't faced Oakland since 2016.
WALK-OFFS
1. Canha has homered in three of four games since coming off the injured list.
2. Tigers INF-OF Niko Goodrum, 1-for-18 in his last five games, was scratched Friday due to flu-like symptoms.
3. Athletics OF Stephen Piscotty has hit safely in five straight games.