SAN FRANCISCO He struck out the first batteralmost oncue, and if not, someone elsemustvescripted it for Jackson Jobe, the youngster with the triple-digit heat who flashed potential fora brief momentbefore Tommy John surgery cost him 14 months.Well, the 24-year-old is back, and it would be irresponsible to get carried away with his five-inning, one-hit shutout performance here at OracleParkSaturday, Aug. 8.So,wewont. But no one is sayingyoucant.Or shouldn't no one would blame you.Here was the third-overall pick from the 2021 draft showing why he was the third-overall pick in the 2021 draft.A 100-mph pitch in the first inning? To the first batter? To get his first strikeout of the season?Yes, yes, and yes, and itd be silly to suggest it was anything other than electric, and also poised, for this isnt just a flamethrower.Jobe is a pitcher, with a four-pitch arsenal, an arsenal that should keep expanding, too.Maybe itwasntshocking that Jobe looked so good in his first start back. He looked promising last season, too. Then he had time to studypitching,think about pitching, andwork on pitching as he rehabbed.In other words, he returned a better pitcher than he wasbefore he got injured.Where this goesishard to say, but his presence felt different, and you can bet histeammates felt it, and wanted to hold up their end to hiseye-poppingstart. They did, finally, breaking through for a run in the sixth andthen seven more inthe seventh and eighth.The usual suspects did the damage, as the Tigers beat the Giants, 8-0, to even the series and climb back to within three games of .500.At the plateZack McKinstry thought he had an inside-the-park home run in the seventh, but the umpire ruled the ball wedged under the padding at the wall, was unplayable, and therefore a ground rule double.Itappeared that Jung Hoo Leehad a play on the ball butslowed up and chose to let it roll knowing hoping? it would get lodged under the padding just above the warning track dirt.Ultimately, itdidntmatter, as Kevin McGonigle lifted a semi-blooperover third base for a single and drove McKinstry home.That gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead;theydscored their first run when Spencer Torkelson drew a walk with the bases loaded in the sixth.Before that, Landen Roupp stymied the Tigers, keeping them off balance withslicksinker/changeup/curvemix. Only Dillon Dingler squared his bat against Roupp, but that was a hard liner right at the centerfielder.McGonigles single broke the tension, though, and how fitting for therookieto get on base for his 200thtime this season. After he singled, Dingler doubled (of course),Eduardo Valencia doubled anotherrookiemaking an impression Max Clark tripled(his first) and pumped his fists when he slid intothird.Clark also made a highlight catch earlier after losing the ball in the sun as he sprinted back to the warning track. At the last moment, he reached out and snagged as he ran into the wall and bounced back.The Tigers put up seven runs in theinning andlooked more like the offensetheydbeen for much of the lastcouplemonths.On the moundSo,yeah, Jobe.Itdbe easy to overstatewhat he did in his first major leaguestartinnearly 14months. Topping 100-mph in the first inning?Thiswasntjust heat, though. This was a changeup that hit the low 90s, a slider that, well, slid ... off the edge of the counter. This was a curve ball thatJobe was happy to throw and used to strike out Christian Koss in the third, for example. Koss was so flummoxed hedidntswing.Jobe, as mentioned, struck out four, though that numberdoesntcapturewhat it looked like tofacehim. The Giants' press box is not only open air but perched low and directly behind home plate, and so you could hear the hissing of Jobes fastball and see the break on the ball.That kind of velocity and that kind of variety is a nasty combination. As A.J. Hinch said before the game, hesgot weapons.Jobe, that is. And he is also a long way from becoming the pitcher he and the Tigers think he can become.Tyler Holton was effective once again and threw two scoreless innings. Ty Madden threw a scoreless eighth and ninth. Up nextThe Tigers ace,obviously. Ormaybe itwontbe so obvious next season ... or next month, but thenthatsgetting ahead of things. For now, Troy Melton is the ace and, by numbers, the most dominant pitcher in the American League.Melton was unhittable during his last outing in Seattle. The Tigers will need him to be similarly filthy Sunday, Aug. 9, as the Giantsthrow out Logan Webb, their ace, and one of the betterpitchersin the National he finished fourth in Cy Young voting last season.The Tigers will be trying to get to two games under .500 to set up a big homestand with Cleveland and Chicago.Contact Shawn Windsor:swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jackson Jobe electric in first start back as Tigers whack Giants 8-0