Tarik Skubal rarely flinches, but on Thursday night in Minneapolis, the Detroit Tigers will count on their ace to bounce back with authority.
After an uncharacteristically short outing last week against the Los Angeles Angels, Skubal will return to the mound against the Minnesota Twins with something to prove and a chance to steady a Tigers rotation that has leaned heavily on his dominance.
Skubal (11-3, 2.35 ERA) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings vs. the Angels, throwing 92 pitches in the Tigers’ 6-5 victory. It was the first time in 39 starts that the left-hander failed to complete five innings, since a four-inning outing against the Atlanta Braves on June 19, 2024.
“I think there is so much expectation on him to be perfect, and he just wasn’t,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said after Skubal’s last outing. “They hit a few pitches out of the ballpark, and that’s not his norm.
“I think he’s had a helluva couple of weeks, and he certainly deserves the grace of an off night.”
The Tigers hope Skubal will help them erase memories of dropping two games last week to Minnesota. Skubal did not pitch in the three-game series that saw the Twins hammer eight home runs, total 26 hits and score 18 runs.
Skubal is 5-3 with a 3.17 ERA in 13 career starts against the Twins. He threw one of his best games of the season against them on June 29, when he struck out 13 and gave up just one hit in seven shutout innings.
The Tigers are coming off a 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, and they have won three of their past four games.
“We didn’t get rewarded for all of our at-bats today, but we did get just enough,” Hinch said. “I mean, obviously, I’d rather talk about what we did (instead of what we didn’t), which is win a series and find a way to scratch and claw.”
Two Minnesota players who have caused trouble for Detroit recently are Luke Keaschall and Byron Buxton.
Keaschall was instrumental in helping the Twins win last week’s series. In his first two games back since he sustained a broken arm in April, he had four hits and six RBIs against the Tigers.
Buxton, who was reinstated from the injured list on Monday, did not play against the Tigers last week. However, in six games against Detroit this year, he is batting .304 (7-for-23) with four homers and three stolen bases.
After appearing in the leadoff spot from early May through his first game back on Monday, Buxton moved down to second. Over the past two games in the No. 2 hole, he went 2-for-6 with a double and two walks.
“(I’m) trying to just give him a little bit more of an opportunity to hit with people on base in front of him,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He has obviously been very good and very good in the leadoff spot. He was also very good before he went into the leadoff spot.”
The Twins avoided being swept by the host New York Yankees on Wednesday, posting a 4-1 win to snap a two-game losing streak. It was Minnesota’s first victory at Yankee Stadium since April 2023.
Minnesota’s Bailey Ober (4-7, 5.16 ERA) is scheduled to make his 20th start of the season on Thursday. The right-hander has not registered a win since May 3, and he took losses in six of his past seven outings while pitching to a 7.68 ERA.
Ober pitched 5 2/3 innings at Detroit on June 28, when he allowed seven runs on 11 hits, including four home runs. He is 4-3 with a 4.05 ERA in 12 career starts against the Tigers.
–Field Level Media
