Trey Sweeney homered as part of the first four-hit game of his career, Parker Meadows ignited a six-run eighth inning with a two-run double and the Detroit Tigers won a second straight over the host Oakland Athletics 9-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Ty Madden pitched effectively in a bulk-innings reliever role for his first major league win, helping the Tigers (73-71) pass the Boston Red Sox (72-71), keep pace with the Seattle Mariners (73-71) and pick up a game on the Minnesota Twins (76-67) in the American League wild-card race.
Having completed a 3-3 California swing, the Tigers will now embark on a six-game homestand against the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles just 3 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot, currently held by the Twins.
Sweeney, a rookie who had a total of just nine hits in his first 18 big-league games, opened the Detroit scoring with a solo home run, his third, leading off the third inning.
He later singled in a run in the fourth to make it 3-0, walked in the sixth, singled, stole a base and scored in the six-run eighth and made it a four-hit day with an infield single in the ninth.
The Tigers led just 3-1 entering the eighth, but singles by Spencer Torkelson and Sweeney set the stage for Meadows’ two-run double. Matt Vierling, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith followed with consecutive hits, turning the game into a rout.
Madden (1-0), a rookie making just his third big-league appearance, took over after opener Beau Brieske pitched a scoreless first. The right-hander threw the next five innings, limiting the A’s to one run and five hits. He walked one and struck out seven.
Meadows, Greene, Carpenter and Keith all had two hits for the Tigers. Sweeney and Carpenter joined Meadows with two RBIs apiece, while Sweeney and Torkelson scored twice each. The visitors out-hit the A’s 16-8.
Zack Gelof’s RBI single in the sixth produced Oakland’s lone run as the A’s (62-82) dropped the series 2-1 after winning the opener 7-6 in 13 innings. Gelof finished with two hits, as did teammate Shea Langeliers.
Oakland starter J.T. Ginn (0-1) went the first five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out five.
