Jonathan Schoop homers again for Detroit Tigers in 8-2 win over St. Louis Cardinals

Jonathan Schoop continues to deliver for the Detroit Tigers.

He launched his 14th home run of the season, a three-run blast to left field, to cap a six-run fourth inning. The veteran infielder used his bat to help the Tigers chase St. Louis Cardinals starter Johan Oviedo and open the homestand with a victory.

The Tigers (31-42) maintained the momentum from Schoop's home run, leading to a 8-2 win Tuesday at Comerica Park.

The second of two games with St. Louis begins at 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, before the Houston Astros travel to Detroit for a four-game slate from Thursday through Sunday. Rookie right-hander Matt Manning is starting Wednesday's contest.

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Miguel Cabrera left the game after the fourth inning with calf tightness. Manager AJ Hinch said after the game that Cabrera was "day-to-day." Schoop shifted to first base in his absence, and Isaac Paredes came off the bench to take Schoop's spot at second.

Tigers starter Tarik Skubal exited after 4⅔ innings and 97 pitches. He allowed two runs on four hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. Following his departure, four relievers held the Cardinals scoreless for the final 4⅓ innings: Kyle Funkhouser (1⅓ innings), Bryan Garcia (1 inning), Buck Farmer (1 inning) and Daniel Norris (1 inning).

The new normal

Skubal walked toward the dugout after the top of the first inning and was interrupted by home plate umpire Joe West. He knew the mandatory check was coming, so he removed his hat and handed it to the umpire.

West checked the inside of Skubal's hat before inspecting his glove and belt.

As of Monday, pitchers are subject to ejection and suspension if they're caught using foreign substances. The suspension is for 10 days (with pay), and the team cannot replace the suspended player on the roster.

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Because the Tigers didn't play Monday, Skubal was the team's first player to be checked for sticky substances. His hat, glove and belt were searched again following the top of the second inning.

After Skubal walked Paul DeJong with two outs in the second inning, he retired seven batters in a row to reach the fifth. But he needed 18 pitches in the first inning, 28 pitches in the second, 20 pitches in the third, 10 pitches in the fourth and 21 pitches for two outs in the fifth.

His perfect third inning featured lengthy at-bats against Tommy Edman (nine pitches) and Dylan Carlson (seven pitches). Skubal's fourth inning, however, was much better. He retired Nolan Arenado with two pitches, struck out Tyler O'Neill with five pitches and got Yadier Molina to fly out with three pitches.

Skubal blanked the Cards until the fifth, when Lars Nootbaar's sacrifice fly and Paul Goldschmidt's single drove in two runs. Goldschmidt's hit chased Skubal, who tossed 62 of 97 pitches for strikes.

Funkhouser needed three pitches to get Arenado out to conclude the fifth.

Offense strikes in fourth

The Tigers scored their first run on a 21-foot ground ball from Nomar Mazara. Although the ball bounced to the pitcher, Oviedo threw past third while attempting to cut down Akil Baddoo.

Oviedo's error allowed Baddoo to score for a 1-0 lead, and Mazara advanced all the way to third base. Back-to-back walks from Willi Castro and Harold Castro loaded the bases for Jake Rogers, who cranked a double to the left-field corner.

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Rogers made contact after two swinging strikes — a four-seam fastball and a slider — put him in an 0-2 count. He launched a hanging slider for two runs for a 3-0 lead. Then, Schoop's homer pushed the Tigers' lead to 6-0.

Schoop entered Tuesday with a .345 batting average (51-for-148) and 11 home runs, 26 RBIs, 14 walks and 27 strikeouts in his past 37 games, from May 11-June 20.

An ensuing single from Jeimer Candelario chased Oviedo with two outs in the fourth inning. He gave up six runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks. Facing reliever Daniel Ponce de Leon, Cabrera grounded out to shortstop to end the fourth.

Rogers shows up

After doubling in the fourth inning, Rogers tripled to the warning track in center field in the fifth to score Willi Castro and give the Tigers an 8-2 lead. The inning started with a leadoff double from Baddoo. He came around to score on Harold Castro's sacrifice bunt.

Rogers' second triple this season came on a 1-2 two-seam fastball from Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller with two outs.

He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, along with a strong catching performance. Schoop picked up two hits in his five at-bats, adding three RBIs. The Tigers went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Schoop, Baddoo, Rogers and Candelario logged two-hit performances. Willi Castro finished 1-for-2 with two walks.

Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers draw on Schoop, Rogers offense in 8-2 win over Cards