West Coast game times, we won’t miss you! The initial two series of the Tigers season have been rough for anyone with a strict bedtime, and the results have been more mixed than fans would have liked, but the Tigers took to the field on Wednesday hoping to keep the Diamondbacks from completing the series sweep. They’d have Tarik Skubal on the mound, always a good place to start when you want to win a game. The DBacks, meanwhile, were counting on Zac Gallen, who was hoping to have a better game today
than his first outing of the season.
Gallen collected two quick outs to start the first inning, but Gleyber Torres kept things alive for the Tigers with a sharply hit single to left. Unfortunately the Tigers weren’t able to keep the momentum up and a fly out ended the inning. Unfortunately, things started to go badly for the Tigers almost immediately in the bottom of the inning as Corbin Carroll hit a one-out solo home run. Skubal got the next two outs, but the DBacks were first on the board.
It was another quick 1-2-3 for the Tigers in the top of the second. Ildemaro Vargas kicked off the home half with a single, but he was soon eliminated in a double play off the bat of Nolan Arenado.
In the third, Colt Keith got a two-out double, but it wasn’t enough to get something going for the Tigers. In the home half, Tim Tawa started things off with a leadoff double, but Skubal was able to steer the ship back in the right direction, following up that gaffe with three consecutive outs.
The Tigers went down in order in the fourth, but the DBacks did much the same in the bottom of the inning, keeping things nice and even.
The game motored right along into the fifth, and with one out in the inning. Matt Vierling sucessfully challenged a strike call to stay alive, then used it to his advantage to work his way to a single. The Tigers didn’t manage to take advantage of the baserunner, and the score stayed at 0-1 heading into the bottom of the inning. Arenado got a leadoff single, but was eliminated by a double play off the bat of Jose Fernandez. Tim Tawa reached in a throwing error by Javier Baez, who overthrew a toss to first that pulled Colt Keith off the bag. Jordan Lawler singled, but the DBacks were also struggling to convert baserunners and Skubal got out of the jam.
In the top of the sixth Kevin McGonigle legged out his first career triple with one out in the inning. It’s too bad that Torres managed to groud into an ill-place double play. Corbin Carroll singled to start the home half. A double play and a groundout followed in quick succession, however, to end the inning and show that Skubal remains a force to be reckoned with.
Gallen’s day was done after six, making way for Taylor Clarke. Clarke gave up a one-out single to Dillon Dingler, but two outs followed to leave him stranded. Skubal plowed through the order in the bottom of the inning, getting the DBacks out 1-2-3. That was likely it for Skubal, whose line for the game was 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 87 pitches. Not his best outing to be sure and the strikeout numbers were low, but aside from the first inning slip-up with Carroll, it was a good outing from Skubal.
Juan Morillo was next out of the DBacks bullpen, and he got the Tigers out in order as the Detroit bats fell silent. Kyle Finnegan was the first out of the Tigers’ pen after Skubal’s start. A comebacker to start the inning had him checking his reflexes. With two outs, he walked Ketel Marte. He then walked Carroll, which is better than giving up a home run, but not by much. After Dingler came out to help set Finnegan right, they turned around to get the final out of the inning.
It was the Tigers’ last opportunity to try and make something happen. They’d be up against Jonathan Loaisiga. McGonigle wasn’t going to go down without a fight, squaring off against Loaisiga and getting a perfectly-placed single into center. Torres once again hit a ball to precisely the wrong place, hitting into another double play and likely ending the Tigers’ opportunity to come back. Riley Greene doubled into center, following the old adage to hit ‘em where they ain’t. The effort was there, but it didn’t pay off. A Dingler groundout ended the inning and the game. The Tigers suffered their first sweep of the season, and this time they were shut out as well.
