Colt Keith made sure the Detroit Tigers’ six-game homestand heading into the MLB All-Star break started with a bang.
A no-doubt, 427-foot first-inning home run to right-center field off the bat of the Tigers’ third baseman kicked off the scoring Tuesday, July 7, in a loud way in a 6-2 win over the Athletics in the series opener at Comerica Park.
Keith lumbered a first-pitch cutter over the middle of the plate for a two-run blast, his seventh of the season, and an early lead.
The Tigers (41-50) added insurance with a four-run sixth inning, sparked by an Athletics’ miscommunication on a dropped fly ball in shallow right field. Ben Mageri, Matt Veirling and Kevin McGonigle drove in the runs on three consecutive hits.
A five-inning, one-run start from left-handed ace Tarik Skubal put the Tigers’ pitching staff on the path to the win. Skubal was dominant with his patented fastball-changeup combination on point, effectively deceiving the Athletics into consistent whiffs.
The Tigers (41-50) have won six of seven.
Tarik Skubal overwhelms Athletics
Skubal overwhelmed an Athletics (41-50) batting order with exciting young talent at the top. The two-time defending AL Cy Young champion had nine strikeouts. He surrendered five hits and two walks, but calmly worked out the stretch to avoid any damage when runners reached base.
Center fielder Henry Bolte hit a solo home run off Skubal in the third.
Skubal struck out the side in the top of the first inning. Athletics left fielder Zack Gelof waved and missed at a changeup, first baseman Nick Kurtz was ahead of a curveball and catcher Shea Langeliers whiffed on a changeup.
Skubal struck out two batters in the second and fifth innings and one in the third and fourth. The Athletics swung and missed 22 times on 52 attempts on Skubal’s pitches. He generated nine whiffs with his four-seam fastball and seven with his changeup in the 96-pitch outing.
Skubal lowered his season ERA to 3.06 over 12 starts and 70⅔ innings.
Langeliers drove in a run off reliever Drew Anderson in the seventh.
Right-hander Kyle Finnegan pitched a scoreless sixth inning and right-hander Jacob Waguespack threw clean eighth and ninth innings.
Kevin McGonigle achieves on-base feat
McGonigle set up Keith’s opening blast with a grinding at-bat, resulting in his 58th walk of the season. In the fifth, McGonigle singled for his second time reaching base.
It is the 53rd time the Tigers rookie All-Star has reached base safely twice in the same game. That is the most by an MLB rookie ahead of the All-Star break in league history, surpassing Aaron Judge with the New York Yankees in 2017. The feat dates back to MLB’s first All-Star Game in 1933.
McGonigle finished the night with two singles, a walk and reached on an error.
All four runs in the sixth inning came with two outs. The rally started with a drawn walk from Zach McKinstry and a single by Spencer Torkelson. Malgeri popped a ball high into shallow right as a pinch hitter, but two Athletics players shied away from the catch, allowing the ball to drop and a run to score. Vierling drove in two runs with a double down the right-field line, and McGonigle drove an RBI single to right-center field.
Up next
The second game of the three-game Tigers-Athletics series is Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. at Comerica Park. Right-hander Troy Melton (4-1, 2.05 ERA) is expected to start for Detroit, opposed by Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-8, 5.79 ERA).
Contact Jared Ramsey at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Colt Keith blast sets stage in Detroit Tigers comfortable win over A’s
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
