Oakland faces Detroit, aims to build on Mengden's solid performance
Oakland Athletics (22-25, third in the AL West) vs. Detroit Tigers (18-26, fourth in the AL Central)
Detroit; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.12 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 38 strikeouts) Tigers: Gregory Soto (3-2, 13.50 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, 4 strikeouts)
LINE: Tigers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tigers are 9-14 on their home turf. The Detroit pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.02. Spencer Turnbull leads the team with a 2.40 ERA.
The Athletics are 8-15 in road games. Oakland's team on-base percentage of .315 is fourth in the American League. Marcus Semien leads the team with an OBP of .349. The Athletics won the last meeting 4-1. Daniel Mengden earned his first victory and Nick Hundley went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Oakland. Matthew Boyd took his fourth loss for Detroit.
TOP PERFORMERS: Miguel Cabrera leads the Tigers with 46 hits and has 16 RBIs. Ronny Rodriguez is 8-for-37 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Detroit.
Matt Chapman leads the Athletics with 22 extra base hits and is batting .257. Jurickson Profar is 7-for-36 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 2-8, .181 batting average, 6.65 ERA, outscored by 47 runs
Athletics: 6-4, .240 batting average, 3.07 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs
Tigers Injuries: Jordan Zimmermann: 10-day IL (elbow), Tyson Ross: 10-day IL (nerve), Matt Moore: 60-day IL (knee), Michael Fulmer: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordy Mercer: 10-day IL (quad), Niko Goodrum: day-to-day (illness).
Athletics Injuries: Sean Manaea: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Gossett: 60-day IL (elbow), Marco Estrada: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Jharel Cotton: 60-day IL (elbow), Nick Martini: 10-day IL (knee), Khris Davis: day-to-day (hip), Chris Herrmann: 60-day IL (knee).
