With two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal taking the mound, a pitchers’ duel could be on tap as the visiting Detroit Tigers look to even their four-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.
Skubal (2-2, 2.22 ERA), a left-hander, will try to play the role of stopper as Detroit’s road skid reached nine games with a 1-0, 10-inning setback in Friday’s series opener. Before Friday though, the Tigers had been on a six-game winning streak, with home sweeps of the Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals.
Masataka Yoshida’s pinch-hit single scored Jarren Duran with the only run in a game Friday that featured just four hits for each team. For Detroit, Jahmai Jones had two.
Skubal will make his first start at Fenway Park since 2023. Last Sunday, in an 8-2 win over the Marlins, he threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts but thought he could do better. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
“My stuff wasn’t good,” Skubal said. “But those things happen in baseball. It’s not always when you have your best stuff. If that was the case, it would be easy to predict our game. It’s just not like that.”
Skubal carries a 2-2 record and 4.91 ERA against Boston into Saturday’s game, his sixth start vs. the Red Sox. Most recently, he allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out 11 in a May 14, 2025, no-decision in a game the Tigers won 6-5.
Before Friday’s first pitch, Detroit placed infielder Zach McKinstry on the 10-day injured list with left hip/abdominal inflammation and recalled No. 6 prospect Hao-Yu Lee from Triple-A Toledo for his MLB debut. He went 0-for-3.
“We’re excited for Lee to get his feet wet in the big leagues,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve had him in camp the last couple of seasons. … He can play good defense. He’s a good baseball player.”
Beyond Jones, Kevin McGonigle had another hit, giving him 22 and a .306 average to lead all AL rookies.
An eight-inning start from Ranger Suarez helped set the stage for Boston’s second consecutive win on Friday, but it took an extra frame and Yoshida’s first career walk-off knock to get the job done.
Yoshida has just 29 at-bats this season, though he is on a six-game hitting streak.
“In these situations, I know how he feels; you want to play,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We got him for a reason here (from Japan), and he’s been banged up, and now all of a sudden, this is how we’re going to play the game … with this roster and we’re going to maximize it, but it’s not easy.”
The Friday shutout win was Boston’s third of the season and second in as many home games.
Brayan Bello (1-1, 6.14 ERA) will look to throw his own gem on Saturday. The right-hander gave up a total of 10 runs (eight earned) in his first two starts before earning his first win with 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball last Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 9-3 game.
“When I’m staying in the zone, this is the result that you get,” Bello said after the game. “When I’m executing all of my pitches, being aggressive in the zone, this is what happens.”
Bello is 0-1 with a 5.74 ERA in three career starts against Detroit. He took a no-decision in a 10-9 Tigers win on May 13, 2025, after allowing three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
