Struggling Athletics<\/a> left-hander Jeffrey Springs<\/a><\/strong> gave up six runs in under five innings, putting his team in an insurmountable hole en route to a 6\u20131 loss to the host Detroit Tigers<\/a> Wednesday night. His counterpart, Tigers right-hander Troy Melton<\/a><\/strong>, held the Athletics to one unearned run on four hits. Across 5 1\/3 innings, he walked one and struck out nine to send the sputtering Athletics to their fifth straight loss. Additionally, the Athletics have lost nine of their last 10 and 13 of their last 16 games.<\/p>\n The Tigers took a 1\u20130 lead in the bottom of the first on a Riley Greene<\/a><\/strong> single. Jake Rogers<\/a><\/strong> made it 3\u20130 in the bottom of the second on a two-run homer. The Athletics made it 3\u20131 in the top of the fourth when Jacob Wilson<\/a><\/strong> reached on an errant throw to first by Tigers shortstop Zach McKinstry<\/a><\/strong>. It scored Tyler Soderstrom<\/a><\/strong>, activated from the injured list prior to the game. Spencer Torkelson<\/a><\/strong> put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run homer off Springs. Neither team scored over the final four innings, sealing the 6\u20131 Tigers victory.<\/p>\n Athletics rookie second baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer<\/a><\/strong> went 3-for-4 for the second straight game. In eight games since debuting June 29, he has gone 15-for-30 (.500\/.516\/.600) with three doubles. Since 1901, Kuroda-Grauer is the 28th player in AL\/NL history to crack fifteen hits in his first eight career games. Fifteen of those twenty-eight batted .500 or greater in their first eight games. Players batting .500 or better with at least 15 hits in their first eight games include Tom Hughes<\/a><\/strong> of the 1930 Tigers (.552), Riggs Stephenson<\/a><\/strong> of the 1921 Cleveland Indians<\/a> (.552), Jay Bruce<\/a><\/strong> of the 2008 Cincinnati Reds<\/a> (.552), Ken Griffey<\/strong><\/a> of the 1973 Reds (.533), Yasiel Puig<\/a><\/strong> of the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> (.500), and Hall of Famer Stan Musial<\/a><\/strong> of the 1941 St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> (.500). Musial also went 15-for-30.<\/p>\n Additionally, Kuroda-Grauer is the second Athletics player to accomplish this feat, as Mitchell Page<\/a><\/strong> went 16-for-32 (.500) in 1977.<\/p>\n Athletics relievers Justin Sterner<\/a><\/strong>, Mason Barnett<\/a><\/strong>, and Jos\u00e9 Suarez<\/a><\/strong> combined for 3 2\/3 scoreless innings after Springs left the game. They retired 13 of the 16 batters they faced, with two Barnett walks and a hit off Suarez leading to the only Tigers baserunners.<\/p>\n Springs had another rough night, allowing six runs \u2014 all earned \u2014 on six hits across 4 1\/3 innings. Two of the six hits were homers. Additionally, he walked four and struck out four. His ERA for the season is now 6.08.<\/p>\n Since winning three of his first four starts in 2026, posting a 1.46 ERA and 0.770 WHIP in the process, Springs has been in a tailspin. Across 15 starts, he has gone 0\u20139 with a 7.64 ERA and 1.644 WHIP. Of the 91 hits he has allowed, 26 were homers.<\/p>\n Six of the nine runners the Athletics left on base were in scoring position. They batted 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but none of those hits produced any runs. They left runners on the corners in the second, fourth, and seventh. In the sixth, they left runners on second and third, and in the ninth, they left a runner on second.<\/p>\n Melton (5\u20131, 1.82 ERA) earned the win as Springs (3\u20139, 6.08 ERA) took the loss. There was no save.<\/p>\n The Athletics (41\u201351) and Tigers (42\u201350) will play the third game of their three-game series Thursday at Comerica Park. It will be a battle of lefties \u2014 Jos\u00e9 Suarez<\/strong><\/a> (1\u20132, 4.56 ERA) as an opener for the Athletics and Framber Valdez<\/a><\/strong> (4\u20136, 4.29 ERA) for the Tigers. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm Eastern\/3:40 pm Pacific.<\/p>\nAthletics \u2013 Tigers Game Summary<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
Rookie Stayed Hot<\/h4>\n
Relief Pitching<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
Starting Pitching<\/h4>\n
Runners Left in Scoring Position<\/h4>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n