Detroit, MI
Tarik Skubal stung by Seattle Mariners early, and then bullpen blows up in 12-3 loss
Were Detroit Tigers snubbed for 2025 MLB All-Star Game?
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold — joined by Scott Bentley of “Locked On Tigers” — breaks down Detroit Tigers players in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.
The Detroit Tigers didn’t get the usual pinpoint control from ace Tarik Skubal in their series opener against the Seattle Mariners.
It hardly mattered by the ninth inning, with the Mariners scoring seven runs in the frame, highlighted by a Cal Raleigh grand slam (his second of the game) to give the M’s star an MLB-leading 38 homers on the season.
But it was the Mariners’ other slugger that gave them the lead for good.
On a 1-2 count in the top of the fifth, with the Tigers already down by two, Skubal hung a changeup to Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez. The slugger did not miss, sending the pitch 440 feet from home plate beyond the Little Caesars logo in left-center field.
It ended up as the deciding blow in the Mariners’ 12-3 win over the Tigers on Friday, July 11, at Comerica Park. Skubal allowed four earned runs against the Mariners after two consecutive scoreless starts (on June 29 and July 6), a less-than-ideal way for the ace to enter the All-Star break.
“I felt like I was fighting myself all day,” Skubal said. “Couldn’t get into a rhythm, for whatever reason.”
He finished the start allowing four hits and four earned runs in five innings, striking out five batters and walking two. And in a sign of things to come, his control seemed off from the very first batter.
Skubal hit Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford with his second pitch of the game on a wayward sinker, marking the first time in his career that Skubal has hit a batter to lead off a game. He forced consecutive ground balls from Rodríguez and Raleigh, however, with the one from Raleigh an inning-ending double play to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard in the first inning.
“I put us in a hole early. And as the starting pitcher, you try to keep your team in the game as long as possible. And I just didn’t do my job today,” he said.
Skubal allowed his first run in the second inning off a triple from first baseman Donovan Solano that got by a diving Parker Meadows in center field. The hit scored second baseman Jorge Polanco from first base, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead, and it might have scored a second run had any Mariner but the slow-footed Solano hit it.
It was the first run Skubal had allowed in 18 innings, with his previous run allowed coming off a two-run home run from Athletics’ center fielder Denzel Clark on June 24.
Crawford was on the receiving end of another Skubal rarity in the third inning, drawing a one-out walk. Skubal, who entered the game with the lowest walk rate among all qualified starters (1.09 per nine innings), hadn’t walked a batter since his June 29 start against the Minnesota Twins.
Skubal’s second earned run of the game came off a two-out RBI single from Crawford in the bottom of the fifth. His next two came off one swing, the towering home run from Rodríguez on the next at-bat that made the score 4-1 in favor of Seattle.
This is the fifth loss the Tigers have recorded on a Skubal start and the first since a 1-0 loss against the Kansas City Royals on May 31. This is also the first time in 2025 the Tigers have lost a Skubal start by more than one run, and Skubal’s first loss since early April; he had won 10 consecutive decisions.
“It’s a good reminder these guys are human, and they’re going to have some of these games where they’re not at their best,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
Skubal’s next start might be at the 2025 All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta. Although American League manager Aaron Boone has not indicated who he will choose as his starting pitcher, the AL Cy Young favorite stands as a likely choice for the honor.
The four earned runs raised Skubal’s ERA from 2.02 to 2.23 on the season.
Tigers bats not quite hot enough
The Tigers offense, mostly silent through the first three innings with three total baserunners, got the first two runners on in the fourth via a Torres walk and Wenceel Pérez single. A soft flyout from Riley Greene and a strikeout from Spencer Torkelson looked like it would end the threat, especially with Zach McKinstry initially called out on strikes in what appeared to end the inning.
However, the umpires had a quick conference and determined that McKinstry’s whiff was actually a foul tip that hit the ground, allowing the inning to continue. The All-Star wasted no time with his do-over, dropping the next pitch into center field for an RBI single to tie the game at 1. Catcher Dillon Dingler reached first via a hit-by-pitch on the next at-bat to load the bases for Parker Meadows, but Meadows struck out to end the inning, ending the Tigers’ threat.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo outdueled his opponent, allowing three earned runs and six hits over five innings, striking out six Tigers.
“For a while, we didn’t put two really good at-bats together back-to-back, hardly at all. And that’s because Castillo was controlling the tempo and the timing and the barrel contact,” said Hinch.
A no-out Greene triple off Castillo in the sixth inning cut the score to 4-2, scoring Pérez from third base. Torkelson’s sacrifice fly to left field scored Greene and made it a one-run game, though Torkelson’s flyout was only a few feet away from clearing the left-center wall and tying the game.
Greene finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Pérez finished 2-for-3 with a run.
Comedy in the ninth
A bullpen relay of Tyler Holton, Carlos Hernández and Brant Hurter gave up a combined eight runs in the eighth and ninth innings, giving the Mariners a comfortable lead as the game approached its conclusion.
In a treat for those who stayed through the blowout, Tigers catcher Jake Rogers entered to pitch with one out in the ninth for his second pitching appearance of the season. His first came in a June 14 game against the Cincinnati Reds, which the Tigers lost, 11-1.
Rogers got Solano to ground out before hitting Luke Raley with a pitch in the next at-bat. He then induced third baseman Ben Williamson to line out to left to complete his first career scoreless outing.
The Tigers next face the Mariners on Saturday, July 12, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
After getting absolutely annihilated in his previous start on Monday in Minnesota to the tune of 11 runs in just 1.2 innings, Garrett Crochet is set to retake the mound today and convince us all that everything will be fine as far as he and his health are concerned.
Unfortunately, he won’t just be battling the Tigers. Mother Nature is once again destined to play a roll in today’s match up, and here’s how the radar looks inside of an hour from first pitch:
The good news is the initial batch of heavier precipitation has moved out and east of Boston, but more unsettled weather still lurks to the west ahead of a slow moving front. That mess will push through eastern Massachusetts over the next several hours, filling in the current dry slot. While this incoming precipitation won’t be as heavy as what fell at times earlier today, it will come attached with colder and windier conditions, so a miserable weather game lies ahead (if they even try and play through it at all — The Yankees did not and waited around for three hours before starting their game against the Royals at 4:20pm). The other option will be to just wait until after sunset when it will be dryer, but still very cold and windy.
When they do get started, today’s lineup includes Roman Anthony leading off in leftfield, Andruw Monasterio at first base, and Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Marcelo Mayer all starting on the bench with an opposing left-handed starter on the mound in Framber Valdez for Detroit.
OTM’s own pitching guru Jacob Roy will be around later to handle the postgame wrap and tell us if we should should be freaking out or breathing a sigh a relief when it comes to Crochet.
The Pistons have made recent moves to add more shooting, but still don’t have anyone quite as lethal as former Detroit guard Luke Kennard. On Saturday night, Kennard had a brilliant start to his postseason with 27 uber-efficient points for the Lakers in a win against the Rockets. His level of 3-point accuracy is something the Pistons have desperately been seeking all season long to bolster their offense.
Luke Kennard’s shooting makes him a dangerous playoff performer
Kennard was originally drafted to Detroit with the 17th pick of the 2017 Draft. The Pistons have plenty of draft regrets from that general era of team history, but picking Kennard has never been one of them. Despite any other weaknesses he may have, his strength as a shooter has always been enough to offset them.
In terms of pure 3-point percentage, Kennard is one of the best shooters in NBA history. He averages 44% behind the arc for his career, and shot a blistering 48% this season – the best mark in the league. Given his incredible track record, it’s not exactly a shocker to see him shoot 5-of-5 from three en route to 27 points in Game 1.
Not only is Kennard obviously an excellent standstill shooter, but he’s also a master of getting himself open with his movement. On Saturday night, he was able to play off LeBron James perfectly for a few easy looks. After that, he caught enough of a rhythm to create 3-point looks for himself, even in transition.
A player like Kennard is easily capable of turning an entire playoff game when he gets hot. In a close series, that one game where Kennard hits several threes can be all the difference his team needs to advance. If the Lakers do manage to win this series, even without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves, Kennard’s shooting will be a major reason why.
The Pistons could use someone like Kennard
Kennard would be a perfect marginal addition for the Pistons that only makes them better without taking anything away from the team. To be fair, the Pistons do have two shooters who have been hot recently in Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter. But having more than one respected shooter on the court at a time is often necessary to maintain a solid offense in today’s NBA.
Given the Pistons’ current lack of shooting, any additional shooters are welcome. And Kennard is understandably one of the most feared shooters in the league, capable of bending defenses just by the threat of him taking a three. Rolling him out on the Pistons would surely open up more lanes for Detroit’s stars to attack the paint and score easier points.
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A Detroit woman was arrested in the aftermath of a hit-and-run collision and shooting on Interstate 94, Michigan State Police reported.
Emergency dispatchers were called shortly after midnight Saturday about the altercation. Troopers reported the caller said while they were driving eastbound on I-94, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a black Jeep sideswiped them and sped off.
The caller then decided to follow the Jeep.
In response, police said, the driver of the Jeep fired several gunshots in the caller’s direction.
None of the gunshots struck the vehicle.
Troopers were able to use license plate reader camera technology to locate the Jeep while it was on the Lodge Freeway, made a traffic stop. The driver and two passengers were taken into custody without incident.
The passengers were released shortly afterwards; troopers believe that the 19-year-old driver was the shooter. She has been lodged pending further review by the prosecutor’s office.
In addition, a firearm was recovered from the vehicle.
The above video originally aired on Aug. 19, 2025.
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