Troy Melton pitched seven scoreless innings as the Detroit Tigers defeated the host Seattle Mariners 8-0 on Tuesday.
Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres and Dillon Dingler homered for the Tigers, who won their fourth game in a row and fifth out of six to move past Seattle in the American League wild-card chase. It was Detroit’s second straight shutout victory and third in the past six games.
Melton (7-1) allowed three singles — by Dominic Canzone with two outs in the first, Randy Arozarena leading off the fourth and Cal Raleigh with two outs in the seventh. The right-hander walked two and struck out four.
Jacob Waguespack and Yilber Diaz each tossed one inning to complete a four-hit shutout.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the third inning. Zach McKinstry led off with a double to right field and took third on a groundout. Torres hit a chopper to the left side of the infield, with shortstop Colt Emerson throwing out McKinstry at the plate.
Dingler grounded a single to center, sending Torres to second. Greene hit a soft grounder to short, with Emerson’s sidearm throw sailing down the right field line to allow one run to score and leave runners at second and third. Colt Keith lined a two-run single to right, giving Detroit a 3-0 lead.
Greene hit a solo shot to right-center with two outs in the fifth off Mariners starter Emerson Hancock, extending the margin to 4-0.
The Tigers added four runs in the ninth off reliever Seranthony Dominguez, who was making his Mariners debut after coming over from the Chicago White Sox in a weekend deal.
Javier Baez drew a leadoff walk, took third on McKinstry’s single to right and scored on Kevin McGonigle’s groundout. Torres hit a two-run shot to left-center, and Dingler followed by going deep to right-center.
Hancock (6-6) went six innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits. The right-hander walked two and fanned six.
Designated hitter Taylor Ward, acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at the Monday trade deadline, made his debut for the Mariners, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. He went 0-for-3.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan finished 0-for-4 while appearing for the first time since May 15 after being activated from the injured list. He had been sidelined due to a strained left groin.