Tarik Skubal made franchise history in his most recent start.
The Detroit Tigers’ ace will look to continue his case for a second straight American League Cy Young Award when he faces the improving Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon at home.
Skubal, a left-hander, threw seven scoreless innings in a 5-0 win against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. That was his 11th start this season in which he pitched at least six innings and allowed no runs, surpassing Denny McLain (1969) for the most such starts in a season.
“That’s cool,” Skubal said. “I’m more focused on winning and putting my team in a position to win. But any time your name gets thrown around with those types of names in Tigers history, it’s an honor.”
If Skubal (12-4, 2.18 ERA) reaches double digits in strikeouts, he’ll tie Mickey Lolich’s club record of 11 games with 10 or more strikeouts in a season, set in 1971. He had only four strikeouts against the Royals but held them to four hits and two walks.
“The game isn’t about striking everybody out,” Skubal said. “Would I like to do that? One hundred percent. But it’s about getting outs however you can get them. That team doesn’t strike out a ton, especially recently. I feel like in the last month, their strikeouts are way down. It doesn’t matter who’s pitching and how good your stuff is that day, you’ve got to know the lineup. … If these guys want to get themselves out, by all means, do it.”
Surprisingly, Skubal hasn’t faced the last-place White Sox (54-88) this season. He’s made 10 career starts against them, going 7-2 with a 4.24 ERA.
He’ll oppose another left-hander, Martin Perez (1-3, 2.16 ERA), who has pitched well since recovering from a left elbow flexor strain. Perez returned last month — he had been out since April — and allowed just three earned runs in 21 2/3 innings, spanning four outings.
He pitched seven scoreless innings against Kansas City, giving up just one hit, on Aug. 26. He followed that by holding the New York Yankees to two runs in six innings while recording seven strikeouts on Sunday.
He didn’t figure into the decision in either game — a 5-4 loss to Kansas City and a 3-2 win over New York.
“Martin was outstanding, similar really to every start that he’s had for us, where he’s in total control,” White Sox manager Will Venable said after the game vs. the Yankees. “Just another great job.”
Perez has faced Detroit (81-61) — the American League Central leader by a wide margin — on 17 occasions, including 15 starts, going 2-6 with a 4.73 ERA.
The White Sox are at the bottom of the division again, but they’re no longer pushovers. They won their sixth consecutive game Friday in the series opener, 7-5, behind another big game from Colson Montgomery.
He drove in four runs, including a two-run homer. The rookie infielder now has 18 long balls in 51 games.
Chicago has staged comebacks in each of the victories during its current streak.
“We talked about it all year with these guys continuing to fight and obviously earlier in the year not getting the results,” Venable said. “But that never stopped this group from continuing to go out there and fight, and it’s really nice to continue that competitive spirit and get some good results.”
–Field Level Media
