Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will take the mound on Wednesday night when his Detroit Tigers face the host Atlanta Braves and their top rookie pitching prospect.
The Braves recorded a 5-2 victory Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series. It was Atlanta’s ninth straight win over the Tigers, who fell to 5-13 on the road this season.
Atlanta has won 11 of its past 13 games overall.
The left-handed Skubal (3-2, 2.72 ERA) will oppose Braves right-hander JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.57), who will make his second career start.
Skubal had good stuff but received a no-decision against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday when he allowed four runs — three in the seventh inning without recording an out. When he returned to the dugout after being lifted in the seventh, he flipped over a small cooler and threw his glove.
“A mentally challenging day for him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He got dinged up a little bit at the end, but he pitched us pretty deep into the game.”
Skubal has made only one career start against the Braves, in 2024 when he allowed five runs (four earned) over four innings and took the loss.
Ritchie, 22, made his major league debut on Thursday against the Washington Nationals and yielded two runs on five hits — one of them a leadoff homer on Ritchie’s first pitch — with seven strikeouts in seven innings of a 7-2 victory.
“Going into it, I wasn’t going to worry too much about the hitters,” Ritchie said. “I kind of wanted to let (catcher Drake Baldwin) take care of that, and he did a great job all day. Very communicative, him and (Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner), just, ‘Hey, go out there and throw your stuff.’ Talking between innings about adjustments, what we’re gonna do. They definitely made my life a lot easier.”
Wednesday may be Ritchie’s last opportunity to start early this season. The Braves said Spencer Strider would not need another rehab start and would be returned to the rotation. That could come as soon as this weekend in Colorado.
Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle had an infield hit on Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. He is batting .347 during the streak.
The Tigers had two players leave Tuesday’s game because of injuries.
Starting pitcher Casey Mize exited in the third inning with a right groin strain, and center fielder Javy Baez had to be carted off the field after catching his right ankle under his body while trying to slide into first base to beat a high throw. Both will be evaluated on Wednesday.
Atlanta activated right-hander Didier Fuentes when Dylan Lee went on the paternity list on Tuesday. Lee, who has made a team-high 14 appearances, likely will miss the entire series against Detroit. Fuentes pitched two scoreless innings on Tuesday night.
Atlanta said shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Columbus this week. Kim signed a $20 million, one-year contract as a free agent. He fell on some ice in Korea in January and injured the finger on his throwing hand.
–Field Level Media
