Tarik Skubal regained the dominant form that made him a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner during his last start. That’s bad news for the Athletics, who must face the Detroit Tigers’ ace on Tuesday.
During his fourth start since undergoing a procedure on his pitching elbow, Skubal (4-4, 3.15 ERA) held the New York Yankees to one hit — a solo homer — and one earned run in six innings while notching his first win since April 18.
The Tigers scored six runs over the first three innings on their way to a 9-3 victory. Skubal struck out nine batters without issuing a walk for the second consecutive outing.
“He locked it in with all the strikeouts,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Once we gave him the run support, you could see him dial it up a little, and that’s a tremendous trait to have.”
Skubal possesses a dizzying array of pitches, and that was on full display against the Yankees.
“He did an excellent job of using his full arsenal,” Hinch said. “Some of that comes from facing a team in back-to-back times. You are going to get a little more creative and try to show them something maybe they didn’t see the last time.”
That last start against the Yankees came on the road. He’ll start the opener of this three-game series at Detroit’s Comerica Park. He has a career ERA of 2.70 and a 31-16 record in 73 home games (71 starts).
Of course, there’s widespread speculation that Skubal, who is 4-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 10 career starts against the A’s, could be traded soon.
“That’s a reality, right?” Skubal said. “I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t. But I can’t let that impact my day-to-day or what I’m doing on the mound. We’re trying to turn this thing around. I know these guys have my back and I have their back every single day.”
The Tigers are coming off a 5-1 road trip, while the Athletics have lost three straight and seven of their last eight.
On Sunday, the A’s trailed Miami 8-0 and didn’t have a baserunner until the eighth inning. They mounted a big rally but fell one run short, 9-8.
“We didn’t quit at any point in (Sunday’s) game, and we put up a fight ’til the end,” Athletics catcher Jonah Heim said after the loss. “I think it was a good team showing. Obviously, we didn’t get the win, but this is a game we can build off of and take into Detroit.”
The pitching staff has been the main culprit during the slide. The A’s gave up 55 runs during those seven losses and one run in the lone victory.
“We’re at a point where our starting pitching … needs to perform better,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “They know that as a group. We’ve addressed it. Now we’ve got to make a change.”
J.T. Ginn will start on Tuesday. Ginn (7-4, 3.04) recorded the lone win last week, holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to one run in six innings despite issuing five walks. He’s won four of his last five starts.
Ginn is 0-1 with a 5.84 ERA in 12 1/3 innings over three career outings (two starts) against the Tigers.
–Field Level Media
