Athletics at Detroit Tigers

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ATH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
DET	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	—	4	6	0

José Suarez (1-2, 4.44 ERA) got the ball for Oakland trying to snap a brutal stretch, while Framber Valdez (4-6, 4.11) took the mound for Detroit looking to bounce back after a rough outing against Texas. First pitch went off at 6:40 PM ET with the Tigers riding a hot streak and the A's desperate to avoid a fourth straight loss in the series.

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Total

Athletics(41-51)

LLLLL

1

+1.5-163+115o8.5-133

Tigers(42-50)

WWWWL

4

-1.5+160-117u8.5+133

Best BetTigers -132

Postgame

Hit — Detroit won outright behind Valdez's bounce-back gem, exactly the scenario the pick banked on.

Pregame

We took the Tigers on the moneyline at -122, and Detroit's 4-straight-win form coming in made this an easy lean even against a team still hovering near .500. Framber Valdez had every reason to bounce back after a shaky last start, and a depleted Oakland lineup missing Brent Rooker gave Detroit's pitching staff a real edge. This was a price worth paying, not chasing a live number.

Valdez had allowed 5 earned runs on 9 hits in his last time out, so this was a bounce-back spot against a lineup missing its best power bat. Brent Rooker's season ended for good this week — he's set for surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee — and manager Mark Kotsay didn't sugarcoat the loss, saying there's no one on the roster who steps in and replicates that production. That left Oakland's lineup thinner than it's looked all year walking into Comerica Park.

José Suarez

(1-2)·4.42 ERA

Mar 31 vs Athletics

L

3.2IP

4ER

6K

3BB

66P

07/09 Lineup

Framber Valdez

(5-7)·4.57 ERA

Jul 2 @ Rangers

L

5.0IP

5ER

1K

2BB

87P

07/09 Lineup

Detroit, meanwhile, kept riding its own momentum. The Tigers came in having won 4 straight and 7 of their last 8, a stretch that's quieted some of the frustration that had built up around A.J. Hinch's club earlier this summer. Hinch has leaned into that resilience angle publicly, framing the season as one that gets written by how the team handles adversity rather than how clean the record looks.

Athletics

(41-51)

Jul 8L@ Tigers1-6

Jul 7L@ Tigers2-6

Jul 5Lvs Marlins8-9

Jul 5Lvs Marlins2-7

Jul 4Lvs Marlins5-12

Detroit Tigers

(42-50)

Jul 8Wvs Athletics6-1

Jul 7Wvs Athletics6-2

Jul 5W@ Rangers6-3

Jul 4W@ Rangers3-0

Jul 3L@ Rangers4-10

Oakland's slide has been ugly and it showed again here. The A's dropped to 4th in the AL West and have gone 3-7 over their last 10, a stretch capped by getting outscored 17-6 in the two games before this one. Zack Gelof made things worse in the third inning, exiting with a right knee injury after a sliding attempt at the left-field fence — one more subtraction for a lineup that's already down its best power source.

Athletics

(6)

• Day-To-DayZack Gelof (3B) — Gelof exited Thursday's contest against the Tigers in the third inning with a right knee injury, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.07/09
• 10-Day-ILBrent Rooker (DH) — Rooker will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his left knee, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.07/01
• 60-Day-ILDenzel Clarke (CF) — Clarke (hamstring) has started to play catch and has also begun a swinging progression, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.06/23
• 60-Day-ILLuis Severino (SP) — The Athletics transferred Severino (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/21
• 60-Day-ILBrooks Kriske (RP) — Kriske (shoulder) began a throwing progression Thursday, MLB.com reports.06/16
• 60-Day-ILGunnar Hoglund (SP) — Hoglund (knee/back) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his left hip Monday.05/20

Detroit Tigers

(13)

• Day-To-DayDillon Dingler (C) — Dingler (thumb) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.07/09
• 10-Day-ILGleyber Torres (2B) — The Tigers announced Tuesday that Torres (oblique) is in the midst of a running progression, but the veteran second baseman hasn't yet resumed hitting since landing on the injured list June 17, MLB.com reports.07/05
• 15-Day-ILWill Vest (RP) — The Tigers placed Vest on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with posterior right elbow inflammation.07/01
• 60-Day-ILJackson Jobe (SP) — Jobe (elbow) struck out a batter and allowed one earned run on two hits and no walks over 1.1 innings in a rehab start Tuesday with Single-A Lakeland.07/08
• 60-Day-ILJustin Verlander (SP) — Verlander (hamstring/hip) announced Wednesday via social media that he will retire following the 2026 season.07/08
• 60-Day-ILWenceel Perez (RF) — Perez (orbital) played light catch on the field at Comerica Park on Tuesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.07/07
• 60-Day-ILParker Meadows (CF) — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Meadows (forearm) has yet to resume hitting and is without a timeline to return from the 60-day injured list, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.06/25
• 60-Day-ILBurch Smith (RP) — The Tigers transferred Smith (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Tuesday.06/23
• 60-Day-ILJavier Baez (SS) — The Tigers transferred Baez (ankle) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.06/11
• 60-Day-ILTrey Sweeney (SS) — Sweeney will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery this week, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.06/05
• 60-Day-ILBrant Hurter (RP) — The Tigers placed Hurter on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to lumbar spine inflammation.05/29
• 60-Day-ILBailey Horn (RP) — Horn (elbow) began a throwing progression May 14, MLB.com reports.05/27
• 60-Day-ILReese Olson (SP) — The Tigers placed Olson on the 60-day injured list Tuesday after he underwent a right shoulder labral repair Feb. 2 that will result in him missing the 2026 season.05/08

Valdez delivered exactly the game Detroit needed, working 7 innings and allowing just 1 earned run while striking out 9. The offense did the rest early: Jake Rogers and Zach McKinstry both went deep, and rookie Enrique Valencia announced himself with a 425-foot home run in his first career MLB at-bat. That's the kind of night that turns a good week into a statement one.

For Oakland, this is now a fifth straight loss and a fourth straight against Detroit specifically, with the trade deadline looming and the roster getting thinner by the day. For the Tigers, it's a fifth win in six games and a lineup that's clicking well beyond just Valdez's arm — a much more encouraging sign than the .500-ish record still suggests.