Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal tosses 2-hit shutout in career milestone performance

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are coming off a much-needed victory in their four-game series vs. the Cleveland Guardians in a 5-0 masterclass behind phenomenal pitching by Tarik Skubal, who pitched his first-ever complete-game shutout.

The Tigers dropped their first three games, falling 7-0, 3-1, and 7-5 before Skubal picked up the pieces by striking out 13 batters during Sunday’s (May 25) afternoon matchup to snap a three-game losing streak in the process.

In the victory, Skubal gave up two hits while tying his career-high in strikeouts (13) to avoid a four-game sweep against their divisional rivals.

Skubal, the American League Cy Young Award winner, was masterful through the game’s first five innings. He got the Guardians out quickly while keeping his pitch count low.

The 28-year-old Triple Crown winner did not allow a baserunner until the sixth inning when infielder Will Wilson hit a double while facing the second pitch of the inning.

During his milestone performance, Skubal became the first Tigers pitcher to throw a complete game with zero walks, no more than two hits, and 13 or more strikeouts.

The last Major League Baseball pitcher to achieve such success was Jacob deGrom on April 23, 2021.

 Other than that, Skubal (5-2) allowed two hits and hit one batter as he tossed 94 pitches, including 72 strikes to 22 balls in the much-needed victory as the Tigers improved to 34-20 on the season and 18-8 inside Comerica Park.

Detroit put wood on the ball behind Skubal’s dominance as Justyn-Henry Malloy had a lead-off single followed by a Zach McKinstry home run, his third of the season, to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.

Javier Báez had a double before scoring on a Gleyber Torres double. Torres scored thanks to an Andy Ibanez single, who advanced to second base on the play.

Then, Ibanez scored on an error by Guardians starting pitcher Logan Allen, which also allowed Riley Greene to be safe at first base in the 5-run fourth inning.

Your American League-leading Tigers will host the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

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