Tarik Skubal returns from injury scare for Tigers, giving up 1 run in 6 innings against Guardians

DETROIT (AP) – The Detroit Tigers are struggling so much that a strong performance from Tarik Skubal was not enough to stop their late-season slide.

Detroit’s ace gave up one run over six innings against the Cleveland Guardians and they took advantage of him being replaced in a 3-1 win on Thursday.

He allowed seven hits and walked two in a 102-pitch outing. His nine strikeouts brought him to a single-season career best 233.

“I felt good,” said Skubal, who had tightness on his left side during his previous start. “The loss is probably more of what I’m focused on, rather than how I’m feeling.”

Cleveland has won seven straight to close within 3 1/2 games of the AL Central-leading Tigers with a little more than a week left in the regular season. The teams are scheduled for three more games Sept. 23-25 in Cleveland.

Detroit has lost six of its last seven games and 15 of 22, turning an 11 1/2-game cushion into a lead that isn’t comfortable.

“We’re still atop the division,” Skubal said.

Right-hander Troy Melton took the mound in Skubal’s place in the seventh of a 1-all game. Nine pitches later, Jose Ramirez hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer to give the Guardians a 3-1 lead.

“We’ve got to move on and start playing a better brand of baseball,” Skubal said.

Cleveland made the most of Skubal’s mistake in the fourth with an 0-2 changeup he threw over the plate that Jhonkensy Noel hit for a game-tying solo homer.

“You gotta swing, he’s going to throw strikes,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “You know he’s coming right after you. You got to be ready to jump anything that’s thrown in the middle of the plate.”

In the same inning, the 28-year-old Skubal struck out Brayan Rocchio.

The hard-throwing lefty was more effective later in the game, striking out David Fry with a 101.5-mph pitch to end the top of the fifth inning.

He started the sixth inning with 82 pitches and struck out Gabriel Arias on four pitches and Noel on four more pitches. With a chance to get out of the sixth, Rocchio hit a triple that right fielder Wenceel Pérez had a chance to catch but could not snag.

The Guardians extended the inning with Austin Hedges’ walk on a pitch Skubal thought was a strike as he squatted in disbelief that he threw a ball.

Skubal responded by striking out Nolan Jones with a 99.5-mph pitch to end the sixth in his start that showed he’s healthy. He threw 100 pitches for the third time, two shy of a season-high 105 in July against Texas.

“He answered every question about his health and his competitiveness,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.