Detroit Tigers Strike First In AL Wild Card Game
HOUSTON -- The fastball torments, the changeup perplexes and the slider befuddles. But what separates Tarik Skubal -- and what made his Detroit Tigers teammates confident the success of his incredible regular season would translate directly into his playoff debut -- is sheer, unadulterated aggression. The type one can see from the batter's box.
Skubal, the Triple Crown winner who will soon be a unanimous choice for the American League Cy Young Award, held the potent Houston Astros scoreless through six innings in front of a hostile Minute Maid Park crowd Tuesday, leading his upstart Tigers to a stunning 3-1 victory in Game 1 of their wild-card series.
Skubal scattered four hits and struck out six, but mostly, he attacked, issuing just one walk and throwing 73% of his pitches for strikes -- including 14 of his first 15.
Skubal recorded two quick outs in the sixth, but then, five pitches into an encounter with Alex Bregman, his left hamstring began to cramp, a common result of dehydration. Rogers asked him for one more batter. Skubal faced two. After Bregman hit a line drive off the top of the left-field scoreboard, Skubal came back to strike out Diaz on three straight pitches -- a changeup in the dirt, a two-seamer down the middle and a 99 mph four-seam fastball that generated chase way above the strike zone.
Game two of the AL Wild Card is Wednesday on ESPN 102.3/AM 1000 KSOO.
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