It took twelve innings to watch the Tigers officially lose this one, but the real downfall really started when Tarik Skubal exited the game in the seventh. The final score was 10-9 for the O’s.
The Tigers were feeling mighty fine after their blowout win on Tuesday and hoping to ride that wave into a series win during the Wednesday day game. To get there, they’d have Tarik Skubal on the mound in potentially his last start with the Tigers? Who knows, but the hot stove is certainly hot. He would be up
against Trevor Rogers for the Orioles.
Tarik Skubal got the game started in historic fashion, wasting no time getting his 1000th career strikeout on the first batter he saw.
Pete Alonso then singled, but two outs followed to end the inning in short order. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, so they would not be repeating their one run in every inning feat from Tuesday night.
Coby Mayo got a one-out single in the second, but Skubal was on his game and got the next two batters in order. In the home half, the Tigers went three-up, three-down.
The Orioles went 1-2-3 in the top of the third. In the bottom of the inning, Spencer Torkelson singled and it was another big Tigers’ milestone as it was his 500th career hit.
Matt Vierling doubled, then Javier Baez continued to be red hot since his return with a single to score two runs. He ended up on second thanks to a throwing error from Pete Alonso. With one out, Kevin McGonigle hit a sac fly to score Baez.
Skubal was cruising by the time they reached the fourth, getting the side out in order. In the home half, Dillon Dingler singled, but three outs followed to leave him stranded.
Three-up, three-down on repeat for Tarik in the fifth. Matt Vierling got the bottom of the inning started with a triple, but he appeared to hurt himself somewhere between second and third, with Zach McKinstry coming in to pinch-run and ultimately replace him in the game. Baez then singled, scoring McKinstry.
Gleyber Torres doubled, then with one out, Hao-Yu Lee hit a sac fly to score yet another run. By the time the end of the inning came around the Tigers were up 5-0.
Skubal kept making it look easy through the sixth, with another 1-2-3 inning. In the home half Riley Greene reached on a fielding error, then right on his heels, Eduardo Valencia reached on a throwing error. That was now three errors in a single game for the O’s, and the Tigers were keen to make sure they regretted every one. McKinstry doubled, bringing in two more runs.
Gunnar Henderson got a leadoff single in the seventh. A great diving stop from McGonigle, combined with a super accurate catch from Torkelson, got the first out of the inning and definitely saved getting another runner on the basepaths.
With two outs, Coby Mayo walked, bringing A.J. Hinch in, but Skubal remained in the game. This was the first inning of the game that Skubal showed signs of struggle with his command. Leody Taveras then singled to score the first Orioles’ run of the game. That was all she wrote for Skubal, possibly for the last time as a Tiger, and his final line (after the inning finished…. so spoilers) was 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K on 92 pitches. He got a standing ovation for the second time in the game and received high-fives from the whole dugout. If it was his last start, which feels unfortunate and likely, it was a good start to say goodbye on. Kyle Finnegan came in to replace him. After an unbelievably long at-bat, Jeremiah Jackson worked a walk. The bases were loaded with two outs, and a pinch-hitting Jackson Holliday coming up. Holliday singled, scoring two runs. Holliday stole second, and then Taylor Ward singled, bringing in two more runs. At this point, it would have made more sense to just leave Skubal in, it couldn’t have possibly been worse. Finnegan was pulled, finally and Drew Anderson came in to replace him. A pop out ended the inning but the damage was certainly done as the Orioles pulled within two.
Rogers’s day was done in the home half, replaced by Anthony Nunez. A pinch-hitting Colt Keith got a one-out triple. With two outs, Riley Greene was intentionally walked. With two on, though, the final out of the inning came, leaving the runners stranded.
In the top of the eighth, Henderson got a leadoff walk. A pinch-hitting Dylan Beavers reached on a fielder’s choice where Gleyber Torres opted to throw to second, didn’t get the out, and everyone was safe. With one out, Mayo tripled and suddenly the game was tied. The Tigers did finally get out of the inning but needless to say the damage was done and Skubal’s final game was pretty soundly squandered. Yennier Cano was the new pitcher in the bottom of the inning and he got the Tigers out in order.
Kenley Jansen was the new Tigers’ pitcher for the top of the ninth. Ward got a one-out walk. It took some work, but Jansen did manage to best the O’s to get out of the inning unscathed. Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning against Tyler Wells. The game was headed to extras.
Jacob Waguespack came in from the Tigers’ bullpen. A pop-out and a double play with the ghost runner got the Tigers out of the inning. Riley Greene was intentionally walked again with one out, then Valencia hit into a double play to end the inning, all with a runner on third.
Mayo got a leadoff walk in the eleventh. Taveras laid down a pretty perfectly placed sac bunt to advance both baserunners into scoring position. Yohel Pozo hit a sac fly to right, allowing Christian Encarnacion-Strand to score. While the tag did look close, it seemed clear the run was safely in. That was it for Waguespack, who was replaced by Drew Sommers. Holliday singled, scoring another run. Sommers did finally get out of the inning, but the Tigers would need to score at least two runs in the home half to stay alive. Rico Garcia came in to pitch, and because the baseball gods have a sense of humor, Torkelson hit a home run to score two and tie the game up. And it was Tork’s 100th home run, no less, his second milestone of the game. With two outs, James Outman was hit by a pitch. The O’s went back to their bullpen for Grant Wolfram who got the final out of the inning and keep us going into the twelfth.
With two outs in the twelfth, Colton Cowser singled, scoring a run. That was it for Sommers who was replaced by Brenan Hanifee. He got the final out of the inning, but once again the Tigers were behind, and they’d need to wake up their bats if they wanted to win it. Ben Malgeri got a leadoff walk in the home half to put two on. Greene grounded out to bump both runners into scoring position. The Orioles went back to their bullpen for Andrew Kittredge. He got the final out of the inning and of the game, and the Tigers took the L.
