The Detroit Tigers opened up their four-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night with a white-knuckle 4-3 victory. Troy Melton gave up a pair of runs over five frames while the bullpen did its job, allowing just one run the rest of the way; a three-run shot by James Outman and an RBI single from Dillon Dingler gave the good guys just enough offense to prevail.
On Friday night, left-hander Tarik Skubal will take the mound in what could be his last start at Comerica Park if
he ends up getting traded. The 29-year-old is coming off his best start of the 2026 campaign, in which he tossed seven shutout innings on five hits and no walks while striking out nine en route to his sixth win in a 7-0 final over the Los Angeles Angels.
For the Royals, right-handed rookie Beck Way will climb the hill to make his first career MLB start after appearing in 18 games as a reliever in 2026. The 26-year-old, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees, has not thrown more than two innings in any of his appearances this summer, so it looks like he will be the opener for a bullpen day.
Here is what the pitching matchup looks like on paper.
Detroit Tigers (49-54) vs. Kansas City Royals (43-61)
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 104: LHP Tarik Skubal (6-5, 2.83 ERA) vs. RHP Beck Way (1-0, 3.22 ERA)
SKUBAL
WAY
