Two-strike struggles lead to Skubal's first loss to Twins in 4 years

MINNEAPOLIS -- The last time Tarik Skubal lost to the Twins, Luis Arraez was batting third for Minnesota, Austin Meadows was playing right field for Detroit and Tucker Barnhart was Skubal’s catcher. That was April 28, 2022, when Skubal was still mastering the changeup that would soon make him one of baseball’s nastiest pitchers.

The last time Skubal didn’t complete five innings against the Twins was Sept. 30, 2021, the final start of his rookie season, when then-Twins Josh Donaldson and Brent Rooker took him deep.

The last time Skubal walked consecutive batters against anybody was last July 26, when he lost 3-2 pitches to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette to load the bases before escaping for six scoreless innings against the Blue Jays.

Tuesday was that kind of night for Skubal. As the back-to-back American League Cy Young winner walked off the mound in the fifth inning, pulled by manager A.J. Hinch following a four-run Twins rally, it didn’t quite feel historic, but it felt emphatic.

Skubal not only fell short in what had been an impressive pitching duel with Taj Bradley, he had been chased from the game. And the Tigers, in need of a spark following back-to-back losses, dropped a Skubal start for the second time in seven days, this one a 4-2 defeat.

It’s far from the end of the world for Skubal, whose last defeats in consecutive starts came at the start of last season. He went 10-0 with a 1.62 ERA over his next 16 outings. But it’s a three-game losing streak for Detroit, which has lost seven of nine since opening the season with back-to-back wins in San Diego.

“We’ll be good. No one’s worried about that,” said rookie infielder Kevin McGonigle, who drove in both Tigers runs Tuesday. “Everyone’s in a good spot.”

Skubal never looked totally comfortable in cool but not frigid conditions, regularly blowing on his throwing hand. He made big pitches when needed for the first four innings, overcoming back-to-back hits in the second and third innings and stranding two more runners in the fourth.

“He pitched under stress pretty much the whole game,” Hinch said. “I know early he got into the game pretty good, but then there were multiple guys on base and they spoiled some two-strike pitches and continued at-bats and then won some really big at-bats, especially at the end with the bigger inning. Credit to them for putting together a tough approach.”

Brooks Lee’s attempt to bunt the first pitch of the fifth was a nod to how strong Skubal looked entering his third trip through the order. Then Skubal, one of baseball’s toughest pitchers in two-strike counts the last few years, struggled to finish hitters off.

Skubal hadn’t walked a batter since Game 2 of last year’s AL Division Series in Seattle. He had walked just 16 batters following 0-2 counts in his career. But after overpowering Byron Buxton with a first-pitch fastball and getting a whiff on a slider, Skubal missed badly with his next four pitches, his first walk of the season.

“[It was] bigger misses in two-strike counts for me,” Skubal said. “That's something that I can clean up pretty easily. In that moment, just didn't execute some pitches when I needed to.”

Skubal regrouped to put Austin Martin in a 1-2 count, spotting a slider and sinker down and in, then missed three more times. Martin reached base without swinging the bat.

Once Skubal got back in the zone, the Twins were patient no more. Luke Keaschall hit an 0-1 changeup at the bottom of the zone back through the middle for an RBI single. Ryan Jeffers, 1-for-23 for his career against Skubal entering the night, escaped another 0-2 hole by fouling off back-to-back 1-2 pitches and connecting with a slider off the plate for a two-run double into the right-field corner.

“I don’t think it was hit incredibly hard,” Skubal said. “Sometimes that’s just part of the game that’s a little bit unlucky. … But the two walks aren’t lucky. That’s self-inflicted damage and that’s something I need to clean up.”

Skubal struck out Victor Caratini and seemed set to do the same to Josh Bell, getting him to chase a high changeup on a 1-2 pitch. But when Bell ripped it into the left-field corner for a double and an add-on run, the Twins’ turn against Skubal was complete.

“I guess you can tip your cap,” Skubal said, “but I think the misses were just a little too big at times.”