The Tigers’ ace returned to the mound looking healthy, but a little rusty as well. The lineup stranded a bunch of runners, and then largely went to sleep in the middle innings as the Guardians took the game 3-1, clinching a series victory on Sunday.
Tarik Skubal returned the mound just five weeks after hitting the injury list for a nanoscope procedure to take a bone chip out of his elbow. It’s a remarkable story, but it will still take some time to see if Skubal can get back to fully dominant Tarik Skubal form.
The Tigers staked him to a little lead before he even got into the game. Gleyber Torres swung at Joey Cantillo’s first pitch and smoked it off the right field wall for a double as right fielder Chase DeLauter crashed into the wall. Kevin McGonigle was first pitch swinging too, and pulled a broken bat ground out to move Torres to third. A pretty ugly Matt Vierling AB followed with a ground out to third that couldn’t score the run, but Dillon Dingler smoked a single into right field for a 1-0 lead. Riley Greene followed with a single to move Dingler to third, but Jahmai Jones grounded out on a nice play from Jose Ramirez to send us to the bottom half.
The first pitch Skubal threw was a 97.9 mph sinker that Angel Martinez fouled cruelly off the top of his foot. It took a bit to shake that one off. The next pitch saw him chop one to Torkelson for the first out. Jose Ramirez flew out to Riley Greene. Chase DeLauter did a nice job taking a 100 mph heater and lining it to left field, particularly as his side was still killing him, and the Guardians decided to pull him from the game. Daniel Schneemann pinch-ran for him. Skubal punched out Rhys Hoskins, and apart from feeling for his changeup, the Tigers’ ace looked great.
Cantillo carved up Torkelson and Wenceel Pérez in the second. Hao-Yu Lee, just back up from Toledo, flared a single into left field to turn the lineup over. Cantillo was wild with his fastball, but he was spotting curveballs, changeups, and cutters just fine, and got Torres to ground out to end the frame.
In his second inning of work, Skubal showed some effects of the off time. He gave up a one out single to Travis Bazzana, and then hit Stuart Fairchild. The duo pulled off a double steal, and Dingler fired high to Lee at third and down the left field line, scoring Bazzana. Austin Hedges chopped one high to third, but Lee leapt and snared it, firing home to cut down Fairchild. That was a heck of a play. Skubal punched out Bryan Rocchio to end the inning in a tie game.
Steven Kwan took over for Martinez in left to start the third inning, as the latter was still dealing with the effects of fouling a pitch off his foot in the first inning.
McGonigle opened the third with a line drive single to right center field. Vierling pulled a grounder through the left side for a single of his own. Dingler swung through a changeup for the first out. Greene flew out to right field, with McGonigle tagging and taking third. Jones remained a study in futility, chasing curveballs down and striking out to strand two.
Ramirez flicked a dying quail into right field and hustled it into a one-out double in the bottom of the third. Schneemann got an 0-2 heater on the inner edge and launched it to right field for a two-run shot. 3-1 Guardians. Skubal punched out Hoskins and David Fry, but his pitch count was already over 55.
The Tigers went in order in the fourth, and Skubal walked Bazzana to open the bottom half. Fairchild dropped a bunt to Skubal’s left, but Spencer Torkelson charged it, and once Skubal made the play Torres had to come too far to cover first and everyone was safe. Hedges dropped down a bunt to Lee at third, who fired to first for the out. Rocchio grounded sharply to third, but Lee picked it and again fired home to cut down Bazzana. That’s two runs saved by Lee already in this one. Rocchio stole second with Skubal not paying him much attention. Kwan flew out to center to end the inning. Still 3-1 Guardians.
The Tigers made three quick outs on contact in the fifth, making it nine straight retired by Cantillo after allowing six hits early on. Skubal racked up two easy outs in the bottom half, but as he hit 80 pitches, his outing was over. The 0-2 fastball to Schneemann was a mistake, at least in the location it ended up, but otherwise Skubal looked healthy and his velocity was better than before the injury. There was a little rust present in terms of command, but overall pretty impressived that he’s back to full strength. Kyle Finnegan came on to retire Rhys Hoskins to end the inning.
So, with Cade Smith lurking at the end of the line, the Tigers had three innings to make something happen.
RHP Colin Holderman took over from Cantillo in the sixth, and for some reason, Jose Ramirez came out of the game with Kyle Manzardo taking over at third and Kwan moving to center field. That put Rhys Hoskins in left field, and Dillon Dingler greeted Holderman with a drive off the wall in left that Hoskins completely lost. The ball bounced away from him as Dingler raced around to third. An unproductive out from Riley Greene followed as he struck out swinging wildly at three straight curveballs down. Kerry Carpenter hit for Jahmai Jones and took an 0-2 breaking ball off the foot. Torkelson couldn’t make contact, as he chased a breaking ball a foot out of the zone. Great work. Colt Keith hit for Pérez, and it really felt like the game was going to come down to this at-bat. Keith drilled one deep to center, but Kwan caught it at the warning track, and again the Tigers couldn’t score a run from third.
Finnegan got the first two outs in the bottom half, with James Outman taking over in center field in Keith’s spot with Pérez out of the game. Fairchild paddled a single up the middle, and Hedges pulled a 1-0 fastball for a single over Lee into left field. Bryan Rocchio was up, and Chris Fetter came out for a meeting about how to handle him. The plan worked, as he grounded out to Torres.
Hunter Gaddis took over for the Guardians in the seventh. Torres drew a one out walk, but McGonigle offered at a high slider and popped out. That left it to Vierling, who lined one softy to Bazzana to end the inning.
Tyler Holton took over for the Tigers with a set of lefties coming up and the Guardians bench largely exhausted by injuries. He got Kwan on a shallow fly ball, but Manzardo singled. Schneemann grounded one to Torkelson, who fired to second, and since Schneemann didn’t bother to run it out, McGonigle fired it back to first for an inning ending double play.
Tim Herrin struck out Dingler and Greene to start the eighth. Kerry Carpenter handled Herrin’s breaking stuff better, lining a single to right and taking second when it got away from Fairchild. Steven Vogt wasn’t going to let Herrin face Torkelson, and turned to closer Cade Smith to slam the door with a four-out save. Smith quickly got ahead 0-2, and then Torkelson got a mistake fastball that was supposed to be above the zone, but he just fouled that one off and ultimately struck out.
Kenley Jansen took over in the bottom of the eighth to get his feet wet after two weeks on the injured list. He popped up Hoskins for the first out, then froze Fry with a 95.1 mph cut fastball. Bazzana whiffed on a good slider, and it was last call for the Tigers in this one.
The Tigers were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in this one, stranding 9 different runners.
Outman worked a full count against Smith, and then appeared to take a called strike three. However, he challenged it and was correct. The Tigers had a leadoff walk. Would magic follow? Well, not from Zach McKinstry, who struck out on 98 mph on the outer edge. Torres got a few gift calls with the Guardians having already blown their challenges. He eventually spanked a single through the right side, and now things were getting interesting as Kevin McGonigle dug in and I begged for a first pitch heater down the middle.
Smith missed with a cutter away first pitch, though McGonigle had to challenge to get the call correct. The rookie fouled off a pair of fastballs and worked the count full, and fouled off a few more heaters as Smith’s pitch count hit 30. Ultimately, McGonigle hit a slow chopper and Rocchio just threw him out. So, runners at second and third, two outs, and Matt Vierling up. He grounded out to third on the first pitch. Game over.
It won’t get any easier tomorrow, as Casey Mize returns from the IL to duel a tough starter in Gavin Williams at 1:40 p.m. ET.
