DETROIT – What a comfort it must be, what a gift, for manager AJ Hinch to be able send Tarik Skubal to the mound every five days or so.
All the angst and frustration of three straight galling home losses to the Central Division rival Cleveland Guardians seemed to dissipate the minute No. 29 ran onto the field Sunday morning.
(Yes, morning. Game time was 11:30 a.m. to accommodate Roku.)
Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young winner, struck out 13 and pitched his first career complete game, and the Tigers salvaged the finale of the series with a 5-0 win over the Guardians, before a crowd of 37,031 at Comerica Park.
The Guardians managed just two hits and Skubal’s 13 strikeouts matched his career high.
It was a masterful 94-pitch performance, reminiscent of his seven-inning gem against Texas on May 9. Like he did that day, Skubal set down the first 15 batters before giving up a lead-off hit in the sixth.
Josh Smith got him in the Texas game. It was third baseman Will Wilson who broke it up Sunday, driving a 97-mph sinker into the right-center gap for a double.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Cleveland Guardians in the seventh inning during a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Detroit. (PAUL SANCYA — AP Photo)
It was evident Skubal right out of the gate that Skubal had his A-stuff. He blew through the Guardians lineup in 25 pitches. He had a seven-pitch second inning and an eight-pitch third. The Guardians tried to bunt their way on — fail. They tried to attack early in counts — fail. They tried to sit on his off-speed pitches — fail.
They had no answer for him on this day.
He mixed the changeup off electric four-seam fastballs (97.9 mph average velocity) and sinkers (97.7 mph). His 71st and 72nd pitches were clocked at 100 and 101.7 mph. In the eighth inning he was throwing 90-mph changeups and 92-mph sliders.
Going into the ninth, he had 21 whiffs on 52 swings.
The Tigers offense all came in one big chunk.
After leaving the bases loaded in the second and stranding two more in the third, they batted around and chased lefty starter Logan Allen with a five-run fourth.
Detroit Tigers third base Andy Ibanez slides safely into home plate against the Cleveland Guardians in the fourth inning during a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Detroit. (PAUL SANCYA — AP Photo)
It was Zach McKinstry who broke the seal. He drove a 3-2 sweeper into the left-field seats, a two-run homer. Of his 28 career homers, that was just the second off a lefty.
It had a liberating effect on the Tigers’ hitters. Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres doubled. Andy Ibanez had an RBI single. He went to second on a throw to the plate and then aggressively scored on a throwing error by Allen on a tapper hit by Riley Greene.
Torres’ double marked the eighth straight time he reached base in the series.