Jacob Lopez and Nick Kurtz Leads A's to Shutout Win in Detroit

The A's have taken game two of the three-game set against the Detroit Tigers by a score of 3-0. The Tigers currently lead the AL Central, and hold an impressive record of 50-31, and the A's were able to put together a nice team win on the road.

The A's had southpaw Jacob Lopez on the mound, and he was coming off some very impressive starts, allowing just one earned run in his previous three outings. Tonight was no different.

Lopez ended the night tossing seven scoreless while allowing just three hits, a walk, and punching out six Tigers hitters. The left-hander is quickly becoming one of the best A's starting pitchers, as he dropped his ERA down to 3.56 on the year.

In the third inning, A's emerging rookie Nick Kurtz hit his 11th home run of the season to drive in Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker to give the A's a 3-0 lead. Unlike Luis Severino from last night, Jacob Lopez was able to pitch well with the lead.

That homer from Kurtz would actually be the only scoring in the game for both teams, as the A's were unable to bring in any more runs, and the Tigers would be shut out completely.

After Jacob Lopez was able to provide length for the A's tonight, the A's bullpen was able to continue shutting down the Tigers' lineup. A's right-hander Michael Kelly tossed a scoreless inning in relief, only allowing one baserunner, and also collecting a strikeout of his own. Kelly has yet to allow a single run this season in his 8 1/3 innings of work since returning to the A's roster earlier this month.

In the ninth inning, the A's turned to their All Star closer, Mason Miller, to collect the last three outs of the game. Miller struck out the first two batters he faced, and then got Wenceel Pérez to roll over for a groundout to end the game, putting down Detroit in order.

Overall, it was a great team win, as the A's were able to get great work out of the pitching staff, and also had the timely home run by Nick Kurtz to win the game. Both Lopez and Kelly are proving to be great arms for the A's, and have done a tremendous job of helping the arms in the bullpen stay fresh.

The A's will go with yet another southpaw tomorrow, with Jeffrey Springs set to take the mound for the series finale in Detroit. The team will face Dietrich Enns, who is set to make his season debut. He hasn't pitched in any level of Major League Baseball since 2021.

Enns signed a minor league pact with the Tigers this past off-season, and has been good for their Triple-A affiliate, posting a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts this season. The A's do quite well against left-handed pitching, so they will look to stay hot in tomorrow's finale. If they're able to take home the win, they will have secured a series win against the top team in the American League.