Tarik Skubal struck out a season-high 12 in 7 1/3 innings as the host Detroit Tigers edged the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Friday night, delivering arguably his best outing of the season in what could have been his final home start with Detroit.
Skubal, who is headed to free agency, has been the subject of massive speculation over whether the Tigers will deal him before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner Skubal (7-5) gave up one run and four hits
with two walks. Kenley Jensen got the last three outs for his 12th save in 16 chances.
The Royals' Noah Cameron did his part, limiting Detroit to two hits, striking out eight and walking three in seven innings. But by the time he entered the game it was too late as Kansas City opener Beck Way (1-1) gave up two runs in the first.
The Royals threatened against Skubal several times, but got their only run of the game in the fourth when Salvador Perez led off with an opposite-field double and scored on Nick Loftin's two-out double.
Yankees 1, Phillies 0
Cam Schlittler struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings as visiting New York blanked Philadelphia in the opener of a weekend series.
Schlittler (10-6) allowed just three hits and no walks, lowering his ERA to 2.07 and boosting his American League-leading strikeout total to 157. New York hitters weren't much better, as the Yankees struck out 12 times against Jesus Luzardo (9-5) and two relievers.
Luzardo allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out nine. His only blemish was a home run by Paul Goldschmidt, who had homered just once in his previous 19 games.
Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4
Romy Gonzalez's pinch-hit RBI double sparked a two-run eighth inning, leading Boston past visiting Toronto in the Red Sox's first game after their 15-game winning streak was snapped.
The shot into the left field corner brought Jarren Duran home from first base with the go-ahead run before Anthony Seigler capped his 4-for-5 day with a wall-ball double to plate another off Toronto reliever CJ Van Eyk (0-1).
Seigler, who batted leadoff, scored two runs, drove in two more, hit a leadoff homer, and added two doubles while falling just a triple short of a cycle. Garrett Whitlock (6-1) earned the victory in relief, and Aroldis Chapman recorded his 391st career save to take sole possession of ninth on the all-time list.
Braves 7, Orioles 6
Matt Olson hammered a three-run home run with two outs in the 10th inning and visiting Atlanta held on to beat Baltimore in the opener of a three-game series.
Drake Baldwin's 20th homer of the season was a one-out, game-tying blast in the eighth inning for Atlanta, which secured its seventh win in its last nine games. Elieser Hernandez, making his first appearance in the major leagues since 2024, was the winning pitcher with three shutout innings in relief. Hernandez earned his first big-league victory since 2022.
Andrew Kittredge (1-2) took the loss, though none of the four runs he allowed were earned. Christian Encarnacion-Strand, in just his fifth game with the Orioles, drove in four runs, two of which came on a 10th-inning homer as Baltimore's late rally came up just short.
Dodgers 4, Mets 2
Roki Sasaki struck out nine and allowed just one run over seven innings, earning his first win in two months as visiting Los Angeles defeated New York.
Sasaki (4-5) matched his season high by going seven innings for the third time. The right-hander's nine strikeouts were his second-highest total in 2026. Kyle Tucker went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the eighth that gave the Dodgers some breathing room. Freddie Freeman finished 3-for-4, scoring twice, and Shohei Ohtani (2-for-4) hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh that put Los Angeles on top for the first time.
Luis Robert Jr. hit a solo homer in the second inning for the Mets, who collected only four hits. Francisco Alvarez added a solo shot off Evan Phillips in the eighth.
Astros 9, White Sox 5
Christian Walker hit a three-run double as part of an eight-run sixth inning for visiting Houston, which defeated Chicago.
Cam Smith socked a two-run homer and LaMonte Wade Jr. drove in a pair of runs for the Astros, who rallied from a five-run deficit to win their fourth straight game. Reliever Kai-Wei Teng (5-6) got the victory despite allowing two runs in two innings.
Braden Montgomery had three hits and an RBI for the White Sox, who had won seven of their previous nine games. Bryan Hudson (3-3) surrendered four runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Mariners 5, Rangers 4
Jake Burger hit a two-run homer and added a tiebreaking single as Texas defeated visiting Seattle in the opener of a four-game series in Arlington.
Wyatt Langford also went deep for Texas, which got a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts from Peyton Gray (5-0) as he earned the victory. All-Star Jacob Latz worked the ninth for his 20th save despite allowing a run to make it a one-run game.
Mariners starter Bryce Miller (4-5) was charged with five runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings as the native of nearby Mount Pleasant, Texas, dropped to 0-4 in six career starts against the Rangers. The right-hander walked one and didn't strike out a batter.
Reds 4, Cardinals 2
Eugenio Suarez delivered a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help Cincinnati prevail at St. Louis.
Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson each had two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who have won three straight. Julian Garcia (1-2) retired the only batter he faced for the win, and Emilio Pagan was perfect in the ninth inning for his 10th save.
Blaze Jordan hit a two-run double for the Cardinals, who took their sixth loss in seven games. St. Louis reliever George Soriano (3-3) surrendered two runs in his lone inning.
Giants 7, Angels 6 (10 innings)
Rafael Devers' game-winning hit bounced over the left field fence in the 10th inning to deliver host San Francisco a win over Los Angeles in the opener of a three-game series.
Having already homered earlier in the game, Devers came to the plate in the 10th against Angels reliever Chase Silseth (3-2) after Bryce Eldridge drew a full-count walk to load the bases with one out. Even though the hit over a drawn-in outfield bounced into the bleachers, Devers was awarded only a single. Automatic runner Jesus Rodriguez came home with the decisive run.
Caleb Kilian (3-6), who pitched a scoreless top of the 10th, was credited with the win in the opener of a three-game interleague series. Casey Schmitt also homered for the Giants, a three-run blast in the third inning for a his 21st blast of the season and a 5-1 Giants lead.
Rockies 5, Brewers 2
Tomoyuki Sugano pitched 5 1/3 effective innings to pace visiting Colorado past Milwaukee in the opener of a three-game series.
Sugano (10-4) scattered six hits with two runs on a pair of solo homers, striking out five and walking one to improve to 6-0 over his last seven starts. Kyle Karros and TJ Rumfield each finished with two hits and an RBI for the Rockies.
Christian Yelich and Brice Turang homered for the Brewers, who lost for just the second time after the All-Star break. Shane Drohan (5-4) gave up five runs on six hits in six-plus innings.
Diamondbacks 3, Nationals 2
Gabriel Moreno drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly as visiting Arizona beat Washington.
Moreno and Tim Tawa each had two hits and an RBI for Arizona, which has won four straight and six of seven. Arizona's Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3) allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Dylan Crews hit a two-run homer for Washington, which had won three of four. Washington bulk reliever Zack Littell (7-8) gave up a run on four hits over five innings, with five strikeouts and one walk. Opener Carson Palmquist was charged with two runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Padres 4, Marlins 2
Luis Rengifo hit a tie-breaking pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth inning and visiting San Diego held on for a win against Miami in the opener of their three-game series.
Manny Machado had two hits, an RBI and run scored and Ty France also delivered a pair of hits for the Padres, who avoided falling a season-low four games under .500. Padres starter German Marquez was lifted after just 2 1/3 innings and 37 pitches. He gave up one run and three hits, striking out four without a walk.
Joe Mack and Heriberto Hernandez homered and Xavier Edwards contributed two hits for Miami, which has lost 10 in a row.
Cubs 3, Pirates 2 (10 innings)
Dansby Swanson hit an RBI single in the 10th inning, fueling visiting Chicago to a victory over Pittsburgh.
Pete Crow-Armstrong belted a solo homer and had two of the six hits for the Cubs, who have won four of their past six games. Caleb Thielbar (3-2) threw a perfect ninth inning, and Gavin Hollowell yielded a run in the 10th before securing his first save of the season.
Henry Davis had an RBI single and joined Jake Mangum and Ryan O'Hearn in recording two hits apiece for the Pirates. Yohan Ramirez (6-3) permitted both Cubs runs in the 10th inning.
Rays 11, Guardians 3
Ryan Vilade hit a two-run homer and Richie Palacios added a three-run blast as Tampa Bay opened a three-game series against Cleveland with an 11-3 win on Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Shane McClanahan (9-6) allowed one run on two hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three while throwing 71 pitches. Chris Roycroft closed the game with three scoreless innings for his first career save.
Nick Fortes went 4-for-4 with two RBIs as the Rays won for the fourth time in its last five games. Austin Hedges hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning for Cleveland, which was outhit 15-7 and lost its third straight.
Athletics 2, Twins 0
Jacob Lopez and four relievers combined to toss a two-hit shutout as the Athletics held on for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom drove in one run apiece for the A's, who snapped a two-game skid. Lopez (5-4) allowed one hit in five scoreless innings. Hogan Harris threw a scoreless ninth inning to collect his eighth save.
Austin Martin doubled and Ryan Jeffers singled for the Twins' only hits. Zebby Matthews (4-8) permitted two runs on three hits in six innings.
--Field Level Media
