Detroit

Tigers

Kenley Jansen threw the ninth inning and also struck out the side, so it was Holton who was called on to protect a two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th. He would go on to strike out the side and pick up his second save of the season. Kyle Finnegan had also pitched earlier in this one, so we’re not ready to say Holton is the Jansen handcuff, but Holton is having another really strong season for the Tigers.

Clark got off to a tremendous start to his MLB career during his first two games in Sacramento. In the seven games since, he has gone 6-for-28 (.214) with four RBI, one extra-base hit, and an 11/3 K/BB ratio. He also has yet to attempt a stolen base in the majors despite being a stolen base threat in the minor leagues. Overall, it’s been a solid enough early stretch for Clark, but the lack of stolen bases and inconsistent power production may keep his ceiling in check from a redraft fantasy perspective.

Melton struck out five and walked one while throwing 65 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 15 percent swinging strike rate. Melton missed plenty of bats with his four-seamer and splitter and has allowed more than one run once in a start since June 9. He’s become one of the more reliable starters in fantasy this season and has a 1.46 ERA in his 80 innings.

The 32-year-old right-hander had been stationed at Triple-A Toledo where he posted a 4.46 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and a 26/9 K/BB ratio over 36 1/3 innings. He shouldn’t have any difficulty latching on elsewhere on a minor league pact.

The 27-year-old left-hander has been sidelined since mid-May due to lumber spine inflammation. He’s finally making tangible strides toward a return to the Tigers’ bullpen and barring any setbacks he could be ready to return before the end of next week which would provide a major boost to the Tigers’ bullpen.

Clark’s first hit was a fly ball to left field that left his bat at 82.9 mph in the second inning. Even with the bases-loaded and only one out, the Tigers didn’t score. In the seventh inning, Clark roped a fly ball to centerfield and wound up on third easily with his speed. The 21-year-old outfielder is far from a finished product, but Clark has reached base safely in all eight major league games he’s played so far. He also made a great catch on a sharp fly ball off the bat of Drew Gilbert in the second inning. Clark is hitting .333 with a .966 OPS and six RBI so far.

Dingler only had one hit in this contest, but it was a big one. With the Tigers leading 2-0 in the seventh inning, Dingler lined an RBI double to left field that scored Kevin McGonigle. Dingler then came in to score on Eduardo Valencia’s pinch hit two-run double. He’s the fifth player this season to reach 80 RBI and the first catcher. Dingler is hitting .275 with an .870 OPS.

Jobe gave up one hit, walked one and struck out four. You couldn’t have asked for a better outing in his first start since May of last year after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Jobe had never touched 100 mph before in the major leagues, but reached that mark on his first inning strikeout of Bryce Eldridge. In the second inning, he struck out Rafael Devers on three pitches, the last of which being a wipeout changeup. Jobe threw 71 pitches and will continue to be on a pitch count for at least his next few starts. That might hinder his ability to work deep into games right now, but Jobe certainly showed enough to be worth grabbing in mixed leagues. He’s lined up to face the White Sox next weekend.

Lee had a 12-game hitting streak while playing pretty regularly in the second half of last month, but he’s taken a backseat since Javier Báez came off the IL. The Tigers seem pretty happy with Báez at short and Kevin McGonigle at third right now.

Clark has gotten off to an extremely encouraging start at the highest level, hitting .321 (9-for-28) with one homer and four RBI through seven games since being called up from Triple-A Toledo last week. The Tigers have shown zero indication that they’re considering moving their top positional prospect towards the top of the order, which limits his counting stats upside for the final two months. He should provide enough of a batting average boost, in addition to some stolen bases, to be worthy of a roster spot in deeper fantasy leagues.