Sept. 12 – The Detroit Tigers will feature their ace on the mound Thursday afternoon as they try to win their fifth consecutive game.
Left-hander Tarik Skubal will be a tough one for Colorado. The Tigers (75-71) have already won the first two games of the series against the visiting Rockies. Detroit is in the midst of a six-game homestand.
The Tigers won 7-4 on Wednesday by scoring six runs, their biggest first-inning score since 2018. Base hits.
“We’re pretty confident right now,” said Kerry Carpenter, who had four hits. “We have a lot of guys that can swing the ball and they’re swinging it really well. We’re in a good position offensively and it showed in the first inning.”
Skubal is not only the favorite for the American League Cy Young Award, but he is also chasing the pitching Triple Crown. He is tied for most wins (16) and leads the AL in ERA (2.53). He also competes with Kansas City’s Cole Lagan for most strikeouts (208 vs. 204).
Skubal (16-4) has lost only one game since June 19. His first outing didn’t go well. He allowed two runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings at Oakland on Friday.
“I’m a little ‘baseball-y,’ but it’s part of the game. It’s really frustrating,” Skubal said. “The ball fell in, the bat broke, the ball hit the line, it was probably more frustrating than anything. But, it’s part of the game, so you just have to keep going.”
Skubal’s only career game against Colorado will come in April 2022.
Ryan Feltner (2-10, 4.96 ERA) will start the series finale for the Rockies (54-92). Feltner had his best game of the season on Friday. He held the Milwaukee Brewers to one run and two hits over six innings for his first win since April 12.
Feltner, who had never faced the Tigers in his career, had a 3.68 ERA in his previous 10 starts, but did not receive enough run support.
“It’s something I can’t control,” Feltner said. “I just try to do my job.”
Rockies manager Bud Black has been impressed with Feltner’s performance throughout the season, even though he had gone 22 starts without a win until last week.
“When you look at your record, being a starting pitcher is no fun thing. It can be very, very tough. It can be demoralizing,” Black said. “The coaches have done a great job of continuing to encourage him. If he pitches like he did Friday, it will be a huge win.”
“He does a great job of keeping his head high and walking around like he’s a successful major league pitcher. That’s hard to do sometimes when you look at the win-loss record. But we know he has it. That’s how good he is and how good he is that keeps him going and it helps that his teammates are so good to him, too.”
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