DETROIT (AP) — Tarik Skubal allowed one run in eight innings and struck out eight to become the fourth Detroit left-hander with 200 strikeouts in a season as the Tigers celebrated the franchise’s 1984 World Series championship with a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Jack Morris threw the ceremonial first pitch to Lance Parrish, and Skubal (16-4) gave a performance that would have fit onto Morris’ resume. He allowed Tyler O’Neill’s first-inning homer, but Boston only hit three singles after that as Skubal made it through the eighth for the first time.
“It was a little fitting that it was the 1984 night and that’s the deepest I’ve pitched into a game,” he said.
Skubal joined Hal Newhouser, Mickey Lolich and Matthew Boyd as the team’s only left-handers to strike out 200 in a season. He now has 201, and could be a month away from something Morris never did — winning a Cy Young.
“Tarik is a special player,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s anchored this staff all season. He has gotten a lot of attention, but he keeps doing his work. I get to see all of it, not just the eight innings tonight or the routine seven innings, but the dominance, the strikeouts, the low hits, the low walks and the low ERA.”
Tyler Holton pitched the ninth for his sixth save as the Tigers moved within 1 1/2 games of Boston for fourth in the American League wild-card race.
“(Skubal) is amazing — he should probably win the Cy Young,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That means we need to come out tomorrow and win the series.”
Boston’s Nick Pivetta (5-10) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in six innings.
After O’Neill’s homer, the Tigers took the lead with two runs in the second.
Spencer Torkelson hit a one-out single and Zach McKinstry extended his hitting streak to a career-best 11 games with a double. Trey Sweeney hit a fly ball to left ball that Rob Refsnyder couldn’t play against the wall, driving in two with a double.
Hinch credited his third base coach, Joey Cora, with the decision to send McKinstry to the plate.
“We’ve talked all year about being aggressive,” Hinch said. “There have been a few outs at home, but you have to take risks to make those plays. That’s part of our identity.”
Alex Cora said he wasn’t surprised that Joey Cora — his older brother — made the decision to send McKinstry to the plate.
“They took a gamble with the runner at third — that third base coach is very aggressive,” Alex Cora said, never mentioning his brother by name. “We knew that coming in, of course. Not every third base coach would send that runner, but he makes decisions based on catching people off guard.”
The Tigers got a pair of singles in the seventh, but both Ryan Kreidler and Parker Meadows were picked off first. Meadows was caught by 44-year-old Rich Hill, the only player on either roster who was born when the Tigers last won the World Series.
Kreidler made up for his mistake in the eighth, retiring Triston Casas with a jump throw from foul territory behind third.
Skubal didn’t even expect to be on the mound for the eighth.
“It was a special night, with the 1984 team in the ballpark, and the crowd was incredible,” Hinch said. “They were giving him a standing ovation after the seventh, and I was trying to say ‘No, no, you’re going back out there for the eighth.’ ”
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The teams finish the three-game series on Sunday with Detroit RHP Ty Madden (0-0, 1.80 ERA) making his second start against RHP Cooper Criswell (5-4, 4.34).
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Boston starter’s name to Nick Pivetta, instead of Nick Pavetta.
