Pittsburgh — Troy Melton will have better days and most likely a long, successful career. Some day he’ll be able to tell the story of his Major League debut with a mirthful chuckle.
Not right now. It probably stings a little.
“Honestly, I don’t even know,” Melton said afterward when asked to describe his general emotions. “Just haven’t really taken any time to soak it all in. When you’re out there, it’s a baseball game like you’ve played since you were a little kid.
“I’m sure tonight when I go to bed I will think about it, like, pretty cool. Wish it had been better, but it’s the first one. Had a good time.”
The Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled Melton’s debut Wednesday afternoon and completed a three-game sweep at PNC Park with a 6-1 win over the wobbling Tigers, who have dropped nine of their last 10 games.
BOX SCORE: Pirates 6, Tigers 1
It’s the first time the Tigers have ever been swept in a three-game series in Pittsburgh. It’s the first time this season they’ve lost three series in a row. The struggle is real. And there’s no time to lick the wounds. The scorching-hot Toronto Blue Jays are coming to Comerica Park for four games starting Thursday.
“Funny how it works, right,” said Matt Vierling who singled in the Tigers’ lone run. “It’s a good testament to just getting up and moving on. It’s a new day and the biggest thing, it’s a new series. Regardless of what’s happened these past couple, we have to move on. We know they’ve been playing good baseball, but it’s a new series and that’s awesome for us.
“We get a new start.”
Melton, the 24-year-old right-hander promoted from Toledo after dominating hitters in both Double A and Triple A this season, showed all the tools that have the Tigers excited about his future. His four-seam fastball was zipping in between 97 and 99 mph, and he flashed his vast array of quality secondary pitches (cutter, splitter, slider, curveball, sinker).
And at the back end of his five-inning outing, the stuff started to translate into swings and misses and strikeouts — which was his calling card in the minors. He posted five of his seven strikeouts in his final two innings.
“Once you get punched in the face early, all you are trying to do is eat innings at that point,” said Melton, whose demeanor on the mound showed no nerves and no retreat. “Just make sure you are not putting your team behind the 8-ball for the rest of the week. Just make pitches and get guys out. And if that translates into strikeouts and the end, that’s a bonus.”
But the game was lost early as Melton got an abject lesson in the difference between a strike and a quality strike, often the difference between success and failure at the big-league level.
The first batter he faced, Spencer Horwitz, hit a bullet that shortstop Javier Báez snared on a leap. Next pitch, a 97-mph four-seam to veteran Andrew McCutchen, was sent 411 feet into the center-field bleachers.
“He obviously got burned by McCutchen’s ambush,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Kind of a welcome to the big leagues by one of the game’s veterans.”
The pitch wasn’t poorly located, but it was middle away but not on the edge. McCutchen barreled it up, 104 mph off the bat.
“First-pitch fastball, that’s going to happen,” Melton said. “I’m going to keep attacking the zone with that pitch early in counts.”
Melton dealt with self-inflicted stress in the second inning, walking a pair of Pirates. That set the table for the kill shot — a grand slam by Horwitz. Melton tried to throw back-to-back cutters and Horwitz shellacked the second one, 416 feet.
Again, not a horrible pitch. He located it down, but in the middle.
“On the second one, I didn’t help myself at all with the two walks,” Melton said. “It was a 1-0 pitch and that’s baseball at every level. It’s always the name of the game. I have to make sure I keep attacking and not make it hard for myself. That’s my biggest takeaway.”
The difference between soft contact and damage is paper thin. The Pirates hit seven balls with exit velocities of 100 mph or harder in the first three innings. Over his five innings, the Pirates’ 14 balls in play carried an average exit velocity of 96 mph.
“I know that’s probably not how he wanted to start,” Vierling said of Melton. “But the maturity to go out there and stick with it after getting hit around a little bit and give up a grand slam, especially in your debut — that means a lot.
“I’m pretty proud of how he came up here and performed. I know how hard it is making your debut, there’s so much different emotions and family and everything like that. It was impressive to see him settle down like that. I know he’s going to want to build off it from here.”
Melton, who is from southern California, managed to get 12 family members across the country on short notice to attend his debut. And his performance gave plenty of reason for encouragement going forward.
“I think my expectation for him is to settle in now and learn from it,” Hinch said. “This isn’t the last guy he’s going to walk or the last homer he’s going to give up. It’s important for him to take a deep breath after a really emotional and important day for him, something that he’s earned. He should take away that he’s a big-leaguer forever. Just a rough start to his career, but a lot of promise, too.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.