The Athletics embark on a nine-game road trip this week. Their hitters face their most daunting challenge at the beginning of the journey.
The menacing mound presence of Tigers ace Tarik Skubal awaits them on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series at Detroit.
Following losses in his first two starts this season, Skubal has been even more dominant than he was a year ago when he earned the American League Cy Young Award. Skubal (8-2, 2.06 ERA) has an 8-0 record and five no-decisions in his past 13 outings. In his five most recent outings, he has allowed just three runs in 36 1/3 innings.
His strikeouts total have dropped this month — he has recorded exactly six in each of his three June outings — but he’s been the winning pitcher each time.
The left-hander started a little shaky in his most recent appearance on Thursday afternoon, as he walked two batters and needed to get out of a bases-loaded jam. That comes with an asterisk — the game was delayed by rain and it was still damp when the game began. He lasted 5 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh, giving up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
“It wasn’t a great day for Tarik to pitch,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “And he certainly gets a pass on that. He won’t give it to himself, but I’ll give it to him. It was nasty to start the game. And it’s not an excuse, he’s not going to want me to make it for him, but that had to play part of it. The heavy drizzle that was going on, the late start.”
The conditions forced Skubal, who is 6-0 with a 1.88 ERA in eight home starts, to pitch with some caution.
“It can impact the stuff that comes out of your hand for sure,” Skubal said. “Add it just felt like velocity was down, stuff kind of ticked down. It’s not that I wasn’t feeling good, it’s just, I didn’t feel comfortable to kind of let it go.”
He’s 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA in eight career outings against the Athletics.
He’ll be opposed by veteran right-hander Luis Severino (2-7, 4.42), who has bounced back after giving up 13 earned runs in his first two June starts. Severino limited Kansas City to one run in 7 2/3 innings on June 13, then held Houston to two runs in five innings last Wednesday despite allowing nine hits.
Severino has enjoyed success against the Tigers over the years, posting a 5-1 record and 1.81 ERA in eight starts.
Prior to the trip, the Athletics lost the last two games of a three-game series against Cleveland. They were blanked 3-0 on Sunday.
“This is a reason Cleveland is good,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Their starter kept the ball (in the park). We missed some pitches, but overall, (Guardians starter Slade Cecconi) kept us at bay.”
The Athletics left 10 runners on base.
“We just didn’t get anything going until late in the game,” Kotsay said.
The Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
