When they’re good, they’re very good.
After Wednesday evening’s unpleasant blowout loss, the Tigers were hoping to walk away winners on Thursday night’s rubber match. The Orioles were trying a little of the Tigers’ best medicine, with an Opener in Keegan Akin for the first inning before turning bulk innings duties over to Dean Kremer. The Tigers, meanwhile, had their ace up their sleeve, and put Tarik Skubal on the mound.
Akin is a southpaw, so AJ Hinch countered with Jahmai Jones in the leadoff spot the first time through the order. Jones got the first inning started with a double that nearly took the third base umpire out at the knees. Spencer Torkelson then got a two-out walk, but neither baserunner would be brought home.
In the home half, Skubal pitched to a lot of contact, with a near home run in the first at-bat that was rescued by Kerry Carpenter’s incredible catch.
With two outs, a bit of that contact landed in just the perfect spot in the outfield as Gunnar Henderson singled. A strikeout ended the inning with no runs scored, but at least it was this kind of strikeout.
Tarik Skubal, 98mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/BINroRgzHR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 12, 2025
Dean Kremer replaced Akin after a single inning. Javier Baez got a two-out single, but no Tigers runs scored. The home half saw a two-out walk to Coby Mayo, followed by a Dylan Carlson single. But once again, Skubal pitched out of the jam but looked visibly frustrated as he left the mound shaking his head. Skubal hates giving up walks with a passion.
Colt Keith replaced Jones at the top of the third as the DH, but lined out sharply to left field. Riley Greene got a two-out walk, but once again, the Tigers weren’t able to score their baserunner. Skubal was happy in the home half as he got the Orioles out in order.
Never doubt the luck of Tigers’ superfan J.K. Simmons, who visited the broadcast booth in the top of the fourth and announced that he was nervous to be a bad luck charm. With one out, Dillon Dingler silenced Simmons with a solo home run. Play was paused briefly for Clayton Cowser, the Orioles’ outfielder, who needed a moment to recoup after attempting to snag Dingler’s homer over the top of the fence and instead running directly into the wall at full speed.
Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez followed Dingler with back-to-back singles, and then Parker Meadows got a high fastball and crushed a home run to make it 4-0. That was Meadows first homer and first runs batted in on the year. It’s been a slow start for him since finally getting into action two weeks ago.
The Orioles went down in order in the bottom of the inning.
In the top of the fifth, the Tigers went 1-2-3. The Orioles got a baserunner in the home half with a one-out single from Dylan Carlson, who was then eliminated in an inning-ending double play.
Another 1-2-3 inning for the Tigers in the sixth, but thankfully it was also three-up, three-down for the Orioles in the home half.
In the seventh, the Tigers went down in order again. In the home half, and Skubal’s last inning of the game, he gave up a leadoff walk to Ramon Laureano. This seemed to ignite a fire of pure competitive fury in Skubal, who got the next three outs in a row. While it was not the best night we’ve seen from Skubal, a Skubal start is still a beautiful thing no matter what. The standard he’s setting is incredible right now.
His final line was 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K on 98 pitches. Imagine being able to look at that line and say, “Not his best.” He’s just that good. And now his ERA is 1.99.
In the top of the eighth, Riley Greene got a leadoff walk, but was eliminated in a double play off the bat of Spencer Torkelson. A strikeout ended the inning. Tommy Kahnle came out of the pen in the home half, and on the first batter he faced, he gave up a home run to Carlson. He then walked Cowser. Cowser was then eliminated in a force out that really should have been a double play. The end result was Westburg safe on first. Kahnle did manage to get out of the inning, but Skubal’s shoutout was no more.
Andrew Kittredge came out in relief, reminding me how many former Rays pitchers have been picked up by the Orioles. In the top of the ninth, McKinstry got a one-out single. McKinstry then stole second. The steal actually likely helped avoid a double-play as Baez grounded out almost directly to second, and McKinstry was able to safely move to third. Ultimately, McKinstry was left stranded, but it was good to see that hustle into the late innings. In the bottom of the inning Will Vest came out to hopefully finish things off. He did just that, getting three outs in a row to wrap up the game and put the final seal on the Tigers’ win, and a series win.