On a day when the Detroit Tigers badly needed a spark, top star delivered a gem.
The lefty threw the first complete game and shutout of his career, guiding the Tigers to a 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park.
Despite losing three of four in the series, the Tigers (34-20) avoided being swept by the Guardians (29-23) in their season-opening matchup. The two teams will face off again in Cleveland from July 4–6.
“It’s hard to imagine a better performance,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “He stepped up when we needed it most.”
Top star carried a perfect game into the sixth inning for the second time this month, retiring the first 15 batters before Will Wilson broke it up with a double. Still, the Guardians posed little threat. Skubal stayed dominant even after losing the perfect game, hitting 101.7 mph while ending the seventh with consecutive strikeouts.
With just 85 pitches through eight innings, Hinch gave Skubal the chance to finish the game — a milestone moment in his 115th career start. Fans responded with a standing ovation as he returned to the mound.
“Sometimes your ace is rolling, and you’ve just got to let him go,” Hinch said. “This was an easy call.”
Skubal fanned Nolan Jones, induced a groundout from Angel Martínez, then struck out Gabriel Arias on three pitches to end the game. His final pitch clocked in at a staggering 102.6 mph — the hardest pitch of his career, the fastest strikeout pitch ever by a starting pitcher, and the quickest ninth-inning pitch on record for a starter.
Skubal ended the game with 13 strikeouts across nine dominant innings, giving up just two hits and issuing no walks.
Guardians starter Logan Allen struggled early, issuing four walks and committing a throwing error in the first three innings, yet the Tigers failed to capitalize.
That changed in the fourth inning. Zach McKinstry launched a two-run homer, followed by RBI singles from Gleyber Torres and Andy Ibáñez as the Tigers erupted for five runs. Allen’s troubles continued as he hit a batter and committed another error during the frame.
McKinstry’s homer to right field marked just the second of his career off a left-handed pitcher, out of 28 total home runs. The left-handed hitter has been strong against southpaws this season, posting a .362 average (17-for-47) with three doubles, two triples, and now one homer.
Skubal also flirted with perfection earlier this month, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers on May 9.
Last September 13, Beau Brieske, Brant Hurter, Brenan Hanifee, and Tyler Holton came within one out of a combined no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.
In total, the Tigers have thrown nine no-hitters in franchise history, with two of those occurring at Comerica Park. The most recent came on July 8, 2023 — a combined effort by Matt Manning, Jason Foley, and Alex Lange.
Justin Verlander owns two of those no-hitters, including the first one ever at Comerica Park, which came on June 12, 2007, against the Milwaukee Brewers. (Armando Galarraga famously lost a perfect game in 2010 due to a blown call.)
Meanwhile, Guardians slugger José Ramírez extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the seventh inning. He’s now reached base in 22 straight games.
Box Score
Next Up: The Tigers begin a three-game home series against the San Francisco Giants on Monday at 1:10 p.m.
Detroit will send right-hander Keider Montero (1-1, 5.28 ERA) to the mound to face Giants right-hander Hayden Birdsong (2-0, 1.91 ERA).
Montero, who previously filled in for Casey Mize during a brief IL stint, will now step in for Reese Olson, who is sidelined with finger inflammation.
Birdsong, 23, is making just his second start of the season after beginning the year in the bullpen. He played college baseball at Eastern Illinois alongside Tigers shortstop Trey Sweeney.