Tarik Skubal scared everyone.
The 29-year-old left-hander kept grabbing at his groin in the third inning, prompting a mound visit from assistant athletic trainer Kelly Rhoades and manager A.J. Hinch. He talked with them for a couple of minutes, smiled in reaction to a comment from catcher Jake Rogers, threw one warmup pitch and shared a thumbs-up.
Just like that, Skubal stayed in the game after the injury scare.
But the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner allowed four runs across six innings in the Detroit Tigers’ 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday, June 24, in the finale of the three-game series at Comerica Park. He surrendered three homers in a single game for the first time since Sept. 30, 2021.
In 2026, Skubal owns a 3.32 ERA in 10 starts.
The Tigers (34-46) have lost back-to-back games after a four-game win streak, sitting 7½ games behind the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians atop the AL Central – and 5½ games back in the AL wild-card race.
On the mound
The big swing came in the sixth inning.
With two outs, Skubal left a full count, ninth-pitch changeup over the heart of the plate for Jasson Domínguez, who didn’t miss. The poorly executed pitch resulted in a two-run home run to left field.
That put the Yankees ahead, 4-2.
Skubal was responsible for four runs on four hits and zero walks with nine strikeouts across six innings, throwing 85 pitches.
As for the other two homers?
Skubal gave up solo home runs to Paul Goldschmidt in the first and third innings, with Goldschmidt hitting .408 with a 1.304 OPS across 88 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers.
The 38-year-old hit an up-and-in 95.7 mph fastball for a leadoff homer in the first inning, then a down-and-in 80 mph curveball for a homer with two outs in the third inning. The first homer traveled 372 feet to left field with a 95.2 mph exit velocity, while the second homer went 427 feet to left-center field with a 104.9 mph exit velocity.
The first homer put the Yankees ahead, 1-0.
The second homer made it a 2-1 lead.
Goldschmidt is one of four players with more than two career homers off Skubal – and he is tied with Salvador Perez with four homers. The others: César Hernández and Brent Rooker have three homers apiece.
Aside from the homers, Skubal dominated against the Yankees in his third start since returning from the injured list. Exactly 49 days ago, Skubal underwent a minimally invasive surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow.
Since then, Skubal has surrendered six home runs across 16⅓ innings.
That’s why he has a 4.96 ERA in those three starts.
The underlying metrics – such as a 40.4% whiff rate (including a 63.2% whiff rate with his changeup) against the Yankees – suggest his performance will improve moving forward, but he needs to cut down on the home runs.
At the plate
Left-hander Ryan Weathers started for the Yankees.
The 26-year-old allowed two runs (one earned run) on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts across six innings, throwing 97 pitches. With those results, he lowered his ERA to 3.95 through 15 starts.
Three relievers shut down the Tigers in the final three innings.
The Tigers scored their only runs in the second and fourth innings, with an RBI single from Zach McKinstry for a 1-1 tie in the second and a sacrifice fly from Ben Malgeri for a 2-2 tie in the fourth.
In the second, a double from Spencer Torkelson and a walk from Hao-Yu Lee set the table for McKinstry with two outs. He lined a sinker from Weathers into center field, driving in one run. In the fourth, a walk from Torkelson and a single from Lee set up Malgeri, who got enough of a changeup at the bottom of the strike zone for the first RBI of his two-game MLB career.
Torkelson and Lee factored into both runs.
Since returning from Triple-A Toledo, Lee is hitting .379 (11-for-29) with one walk and eight strikeouts in 10 games. He has impressed against left-handed pitchers while filling in for an injured Gleyber Torres.
Next up: Houston, hello
The Tigers and Yankees have completed their three-game series.
But they’re about to meet again.
The Tigers travel to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, taking place from Monday through Wednesday. Before the Tigers-Yankees rematch, the Houston Astros will visit Comerica Park for a four-game series this weekend.
The four-game series begins Thursday (6:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet), with right-hander Troy Melton scheduled to start. The next three starters: right-hander Keider Montero on Friday, left-hander Framber Valdez on Saturday and right-hander Jack Flaherty on Sunday.
Flaherty is returning from the injured list and hasn’t pitched for the Tigers since June 12.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal stays in game after injury scare; Tigers fall to Yankees
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
