Tarik Skubal blanks Boston Red Sox as Detroit Tigers win, 8-1, for series victory
If Detroit Tigers rookie Tarik Skubal wanted to make a statement, he did just that Thursday against the Boston Red Sox.
He struggled in July, recording a 5.86 ERA over 27⅔ innings and five starts. The underling numbers were strong — three walks and 23 strikeouts — but he conceded nine home runs, including three in each of his past two outings.
On Thursday, though, Skubal delivered his first scoreless start since May 30 against the New York Yankees. He carried the Tigers (53-58) through five innings to do his part in an 8-1 win — and series victory — in the finale at Comerica Park.
Detroit is 44-34 since May 8 and 13-7 since the All-Star break.
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The top four batters in Boston's lineup — Enrique Hernandez, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts — went 1-for-10 with one walk and three strikeouts against Skubal, who allowed five hits in all. He struck out four batters, including Martinez twice, with a 97 mph fastball in the first and a 95 mph fastball in the third.
Skubal threw 53 of 91 pitches for strikes.
No. 9 Marwin Gonzalez, a stalwart of manager AJ Hinch's days in Houston, singled in the fifth, putting Skubal's resiliency to the test with Hernandez, Devers and Martinez on deck. Hinch got righty reliever Kyle Funkhouser warming in case Skubal couldn't escape.
But all three batters flied out to conclude Skubal's 20th start this season.
Scoring eight
The Tigers scored first and never looked back, thanks to Robbie Grossman's leadoff home run. He exited with a left elbow contusion after the second inning after being hit by a pitch from starter Martin Perez, who completed 1⅓ innings before getting pulled.
In the second, Victor Reyes tripled and scored on Zack Short's sacrifice fly. Schoop put the Tigers ahead 3-0 with a bases-loaded groundout off reliever Phillips Valdez. Willi Castro, who had singled earlier in the inning was running on contact and eliminated the chance for a play at the plate.
When Derek Hill followed with his single to left, Castro aggressively turned the corner at second base and advanced to third. On the throw, Hill moved up to second base. Grossman's hit by pitch loaded the bases for Schoop.
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Three more runs scored in the fifth inning for a 6-0 lead.
Jeimer Candelario delivered a one-run ground-rule double to center, his 28th double this season, to score School. Reyes then cleared the bases with a triple to the right-center gap.
Schoop's RBI single in the sixth and Reyes' RBI force out in the seventh made it 8-0.
Reyes became the first Tiger to record multiple triples in a game since Ian Kinsler on July 17, 2017. He became the second MLB player to accomplish the feat this season, joining Minnesota's Louis Arraez (June 25 vs. Cleveland).
Schoop leads the American League with 37 multi-hit games.
Castro's defense
After Castro's single and speed in the second inning, he flashed his glove in the fourth on a grounder from Kevin Plawecki. The ball rolled to the shortstop side of second, so Castro ranged across the diamond in pursuit.
The 24-year-old backhanded the bal and fired across his body to Schoop at first for the second out.
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Known for his defensive woes, Castro made one of the best plays of his career. He entered Thursday with minus-11 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at second base and minus-2 DRS at shortstop this season.
Last year, Castro had minus-8 DRS at shortstop and minus-2 DRS at third base.
Bullpen shines
Once Skubal finished his day, the bullpen kept the Red Sox at bay for the remaining four innings, bringing its scoreless streak to 23⅓ innings before Boston broke through on Alex Verdugo's sac fly in the eighth. It was the franchise's longest streak since 25 consecutive innings from Aug. 26-31, 2007, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
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The Tigers turned to Funkhouser for a perfect sixth inning, and left-hander Ian Krol pitched the seventh. Righty Erasmo Ramirez pitched the eighth and ninth, giving up one run on three hits and one walk.
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 take down Boston Red Sox, 8-1, for series win
