DETROIT — The kids are now in charge of the Tigers rotation. If there was any lingering doubt before Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Rangers, it’s gone now.
On the same day the Tigers announced that Spencer Turnbull will undergo Tommy John surgery, costing him the rest of this season and possibly next year, Tarik Skubal continued his summer resurgence with six innings of one-run ball, sending Detroit on its way to a season-high five-game winning streak.
Skubal’s latest gem also came on the same day that general manager Al Avila told reporters that the Tigers aren’t rebuilding anymore. With Skubal, Casey Mize and Matt Manning now fronting Detroit’s rotation, the future has arrived, at least on the pitching side.
Skubal (6-8) gave up hits to two of his first three batters Tuesday to put runners at the corners, but escaped by jamming Rangers All-Star slugger Joey Gallo into a popout before starting a pickoff that eventually nabbed Eli White trying to steal home. From there, Skubal rolled, retiring 11 consecutive batters before Nathaniel Lowe’s infield single and Andy Ibáñez’s double off the right-field fence produced the Rangers’ lone run.
While Skubal produced eight swings and misses out of 83 pitches, a relatively low total for him, half came off his changeup, a pitch that has been a work in progress for him ever since he broke into the Majors last summer. His four-seam fastball and sinker both had extra velocity, averaging around 95 mph according to Statcast, possibly reflecting the benefit of a long rest around the All-Star break.