Tarik Skubal dominates Angels in Tigers' 7-0 shutout
Tarik Skubal threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks as Spencer Torkelson hit two home runs and drove in four, powering the Detroit Tigers to a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night in Anaheim and boosting their AL Central chase. The left-hander needed only 87 pitches, 60 of them strikes, in a statement start to open the second half.
Key Takeaways
- Tarik Skubal (6-5) blanked Los Angeles over seven innings with nine strikeouts, zero walks, and 19 swinging strikes.
- Spencer Torkelson homered twice and drove in four runs, including a first-inning three-run shot.
- Detroit built a 6-0 lead by the second inning and finished a 7-0 shutout in Anaheim.
- The Tigers (46-52) have won 11 of 14 and sit 5½ games behind the AL Central-leading White Sox.
- Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (3-3) lasted four innings and allowed six runs in Los Angeles' fourth straight loss.
How did Tarik Skubal shut down the Angels?
According to the ESPN game recap, Skubal allowed five hits without a walk and induced 19 swinging strikes for the third straight start. Of his 87 pitches, 60 were strikes, and he struck out nine.
CBS Sports noted that Skubal held the Angels without an extra-base hit and posted nine punchouts for the fourth time in his past five outings. It was also his first scoreless start since March 26 against San Diego.
The only real jam came in the sixth, when Logan O'Hoppe and Mike Trout singled with one out. Skubal escaped by getting Vaughn Grissom to ground into an inning-ending double play.
What sparked the Tigers' early 7-0 outburst?
Detroit needed only five batters to seize a 4-0 lead. Kevin McGonigle doubled to open the game, Dillon Dingler was hit by a pitch, Colt Keith delivered an RBI single, and Torkelson crushed a three-run homer to left-center.
The Tigers added two more in the second after loading the bases with no outs on singles by James Outman and McGonigle and another Dingler hit-by-pitch. Keith and Riley Greene followed with sacrifice flies for a 6-0 cushion.
Torkelson led off the fifth with his 18th homer, a 420-foot drive to center off Brent Suter, his first multihomer game since Sept. 7, 2023 at Yankee Stadium. MLB.com highlighted the Skubal-Torkelson combo as the story of the night.
Why does this win matter for Detroit's race?
The Tigers have won 11 of 14 and are 24-14 since June 1. They now sit within 5½ games of first-place Chicago in the AL Central and 3½ games of Boston for the third AL wild card, after trailing by 11½ games on May 31 when they were 22-38.
CBS Sports flagged ongoing trade chatter around Skubal, while noting Detroit has won eight of its past 10 and may be less inclined to move him amid a tightening division race. For more market-moving sports and finance buzz, see our Fintech & Crypto Alerts desk.
Rodriguez's shaky four-inning outing sent the last-place Angels (38-61) to their 12th loss in 14 games. Sunday's series finale pairs Detroit's Casey Mize (4-6, 2.79 ERA) against Angels right-hander Ryan Johnson (1-4, 6.75).