Which AL Central team should worry Detroit Tigers?
The Days of Roar podcast breaks down the competitiveness of the American League Central — and which team the Detroit Tigers should keep an eye on.
The Detroit Tigers lost to the Kansas City Royals, 1-0, on Saturday, May 31.Tigers ace Tarik Skubal allowed no runs over his seven innings, but got no run support.The Tigers mustered just two hits, both by Colt Keith, and were no-hit through the first six innings.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tarik Skubal vs. Michael Wacha.
It was an old-fashioned pitchers duel between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals on Saturday, May 31, at Kauffman Stadium in the second of three games in the series, with Wacha taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
The Royals won, 1-0.
Colt Keith broke up Wacha’s no-hit bid when he hit a ground-ball single up the middle with one out in the seventh inning, but the Tigers never put a run on the scoreboard.
The Tigers (38-21) were held to two hits and two walks.
Skubal exited after throwing 90 pitches across seven innings. The Royals wasted no time taking advantage of manager A.J. Hinch’s call to the bullpen, securing a 1-0 lead off right-handed reliever Beau Brieske in the eighth inning.
The run scored on back-to-back hits from Nick Loftin and Vinnie Pasquantino.
A runner didn’t reach scoring position until Loftin doubled for the Royals in the bottom of the eighth. The Tigers put a runner on first base in both the eighth and ninth innings against Kansas City’s bullpen, but failed to advance them.
The final opportunity for the Tigers occurred with two outs in the ninth, when Keith slapped a fastball from Royals closer Carlos Estévez the other way for another ground-ball single.
But Riley Greene — who finished 0-for-4 with one strikeout — grounded out on a first-pitch changeup at the bottom of the zone to end the game.
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Tarik Skubal’s dominance
Skubal completed seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, throwing 90 pitches.
The 28-year-old allowed just two hits: Freddy Fermin hit a full-count fastball for a single with one out in the third inning; Loftin hit a full-count sinker for a single with one out in the fifth inning. There weren’t any other baserunners against Skubal, as he didn’t allow a walk.
After Lofton reached safely, he tried to steal second base with Pasquantino in the batter’s box, but catcher Dillon Dingler delivered a strike to throw him out. A few pitches later, Pasquantino struck out swinging on a changeup to end the fifth inning.
Facing Skubal, Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez each went 0-for-3 with one strikeout.
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In the seventh, Witt grounded out to second baseman Gleyber Torres, who made a sliding stop to keep the ball from sneaking through the infield. Perez golfed a down-and-in slider to left field, but it died at 323 feet — well short of the warning track.
Skubal has a 2.26 ERA in 12 starts, including a 1.66 ERA, three walks (1.3% walk rate) and 89 strikeouts (37.4% strikeout rate) across his past 10 starts, spanning 65 innings.
He has yet to top 96 pitches in a game this season.
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Michael Wacha’s dominance
Wacha also completed seven scoreless innings.
The 33-year-old allowed one hit and one walk: Torres drew a seven-pitch walk with one out in the fourth inning; Keith hit a middle-middle cutter for a single with one out in the seventh inning.
The Tigers were kept off balance by Wacha’s mix of six pitches, including an outstanding changeup. His sharp command allowed him to pitch to weak contact and generate whiffs.
Wacha racked up six strikeouts.
He threw 99 pitches.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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