Athletics rally towards third consecutive win after dominating Tigers

Daniel Mengden threw seven innings of one-run ball to notch his first win of the season in the Oakland Athletics' 4-1 victory over the host Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The Athletics have won the first three games of the series and 15 consecutive games against the Tigers.

Mengden (1-1) was recalled last weekend and lost to Cleveland last Sunday in his debut, but he stymied the struggling Tigers all day. The right-hander allowed three hits, struck out five, walked two and retired the final eight hitters he faced. The eighth- and ninth-place hitters were productive for Oakland as Jurickson Profar went 3-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI, while backup catcher Nick Hundley swatted a two-run homer. Chad Pinder slugged a solo shot for Oakland. The Tigers have lost six consecutive games to open their 10-game homestand, outscored 52-12.

Detroit ace Matthew Boyd (4-4) allowed four runs on seven hits, including a pair of homers, in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked none. JaCoby Jones went 2-for-3, and Ronny Rodriguez singled and scored a run for Detroit, which mustered just five hits.

Boyd retired the first seven batters before Profar singled to centre. Batting ninth, Hundley followed with his first home run this season, a two-run shot to right field that looked harmless but kept carrying on a breezy afternoon. Mengden tossed three scoreless innings before a moment of wildness helped put the Tigers on the board in the fourth after Rodriguez's one-out double to left. Rodriguez moved to third on a groundout and scored when Mengden uncorked a wild pitch that trimmed the lead to 2-1.

Profar was again in the middle of the action in the fifth after Robbie Grossman opened with a single and stole second. Grossman scored for a 3-1 advantage when Profar rapped a double to left-centre. Pinder homered for the second straight game to lead off the seventh, smacking a shot to left-centre off a down-and-in curveball from Boyd for a 4-1 lead. Oakland's Blake Treinen allowed one hit while recording his seventh save in a scoreless ninth innings.