A rainy day in Denver turned into a daunting night in Detroit for the Texas Rangers.
The Tigers had their series opener against the Colorado Rockies postponed on Tuesday due to inclement weather. When a doubleheader was scheduled on Thursday to make up that game, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch decided to push back Tarik Skubal’s start one day.
Instead of pitching the series finale vs. the Rockies, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner will face the visiting Rangers in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.
Skubal (3-2, 2.21 ERA) has delivered quality stars in four of his past five outings. He allowed just three runs in 30 innings (0.90 ERA) over that five-game span while walking just one batter and striking out 38.
In his latest start, Skubal allowed a leadoff home run, then held the Los Angeles Angels scoreless over the rest of his six-inning outing on May 2. He permitted four hits and no walks while recording eight strikeouts.
Opponents have been trying to attack Skubal early in counts rather than getting carved up by his devastating array of pitches. The left-hander doesn’t mind.
“I want teams to swing early and often,” he said. “It’s going to put me in a really good spot to have success and eat a lot of innings effectively. And they don’t get a chance to see what my stuff does. So swing all you want first pitch. I like it.”
With the Tigers in control of the game in Anaheim, Calif., Skubal threw only 73 pitches before Hinch took him out. The rainout in Colorado now gives Skubal six days off before the Friday start.
“We’re going to stay really disciplined to how we handle our pitching,” Hinch said. “It’s one of our strengths and it’s something we’re really focused on. We’re going to keep their gas tanks full.”
Skubal is 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA in four career starts against Texas.
The Rangers will counter with veteran left-hander Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.28). In his most recent start, on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, Corbin allowed just one run, on a solo homer, in 5 2/3 innings. That was the deepest he has gone in any of his five starts.
Corbin didn’t finish with an ERA lower than 5.20 in the past four seasons as a rotation member with the Washington Nationals.
In two career starts against the Tigers, Corbin is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA.
The Rangers have lost 11 of their past 15 games, including their past two contests. They dropped a 6-4 decision at Boston on Wednesday, then got blanked 5-0 by the Red Sox on Thursday.
The Rangers failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position in each contest, finishing a combined 0-for-17.
“You don’t win games unless you get those hits,” manager Bruce Bochy said after Texas was shut out for the fifth time this season. “We did what we’re trying to do — get guys on — and we had the right guys up. Just couldn’t get that hit to keep it going there.”
Rangers shortstop Cory Seager got the day off Thursday. He is still working his way back from a hamstring injury.
“He’s been able to play with it,” Bochy said. “We’ve just got to make sure we don’t re-injure it.”
The Tigers have won four straight and seven of their past eight. They swept the three-game series from the Rockies, including the Thursday doubleheader in which they won 10-2 and 11-1.
–Field Level Media
