Tarik Skubal gives up early homers, but Detroit Tigers back him up in 11-4 win vs Athletics
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal allowed two home runs in a game for the fifth time in the past three seasons, spanning 62 starts. He was rocked for a two-run homer in both the first and second innings, but he didn't crumble from there.
Instead, Skubal battled to complete six innings.
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The 28-year-old put zeros on the scoreboard in his final four innings, leading the Tigers to an 11-4 win over the Athletics on Tuesday, June 24, in the first of three games in the series at Comerica Park. The offense picked him up by scoring seven runs in the first three innings, including Kerry Carpenter's two-run home run ending a 17-game homer drought.
With the victory, the Tigers (50-30) became MLB's first team to 50 wins in the 2025 season.
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Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches in the first inning against the Athletics at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
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The first inning began on a sour note.
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Skubal walked leadoff hitter Jacob Wilson on five pitches — Skubal's 13th walk in 365 batters faced this season, but his sixth walk in three starts.
The A's immediately made him pay for that mistake, as Brent Rooker — one of the few MLB hitters who gives Skubal problems — demolished a middle-middle 96 mph fastball for a two-run home run to left field. He hit the ball 415 feet with a 110 mph exit velocity.
In seven games, Rooker is hitting .471 (8-for-17) with three home runs across 18 plate appearances against Skubal.
The second inning wasn't any better.
With two outs, Tyler Soderstrom kept the inning alive by singling off Skubal's first-pitch sinker. The next batter, Denzel Clarke, hit a first-pitch changeup for a two-run home run to center field. The shocker: Clarke is hitting just .207 with two home runs in 28 games.
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The homers put the A's ahead 2-0 in the first, then 4-2 in the second.
But the Tigers fought back.
And Skubal locked in.
The reigning American League Cy Young winner allowed four runs on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts across six innings, throwing 97 pitches.
Skubal owns a 2.29 ERA in 16 starts.
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First AL team to 400 runs
The Tigers became the first AL team to reach 400 runs when Wenceel Pérez crossed the plate for the second and final run in the seventh inning.
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Detroit had 391 runs entering Tuesday's game, to finish with 402.
Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler (13) celebrates with outfielder Zach McKinstry (39) and outfielder Wenceel Perez (46) after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Athletics at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
The scoring started in the first inning, when a slumping Carpenter refused to chase three pitches outside the strike zone for a 3-0 count against right-hander Luis Severino. He then crushed a middle-middle 95 mph fastball for a two-run home run.
It was Carpenter's first homer since his three-homer game June 2.
In the third inning, the Tigers scored five runs to take a 7-4 lead over the Athletics.
A single from Gleyber Torres and a double from Riley Greene set the table for Pérez, who drove in both runners with a double. Pérez collected two hits in his 23rd game this season, bringing him to a .307 average with a 1.007 OPS. Dillon Dingler added a three-run home run to cap the five-run third inning.
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The Tigers didn't score again until the seventh inning.
The offense put up three singles in a row with two outs against left-handed reliever Hogan Harris, courtesy of Greene, Pérez and Zach McKinstry.
On McKinstry's single, third-base coach Joey Cora made an aggressive decision to try to score Greene from second base. Greene should've been out easily, but the Athletics' catcher let the ball skip past his glove — going all the way to the backstop.
Not only did Greene score, but Pérez scored from first base for a 9-4 advantage (and the Tigers' 400th run of the season).
Less than 10 minutes later, the New York Yankees scored their 400th run of the season in the 11th inning against the Cincinnati Reds. Additionally, three National League teams already reached 400 runs: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Tigers tacked on two runs in the eighth inning for an 11-4 lead with Greene's two-run single. Greene, who finished 4-for-5, is hitting .299 with an .890 OPS in 78 games.
Wenceel Pérez in right field
Not only did Pérez contribute on offense, but he also contributed on defense in the seventh inning — all the way out in right field. He made two outfield assists for the first two outs in the seventh, with shortstop Javier Báez on the receiving end.
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The plays happened with right-handed reliever Chase Lee on the mound.
Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler (13) celebrates with outfielder Zach McKinstry (39) and outfielder Wenceel Perez (46) after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Athletics at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
The first play: Soderstrom hit a leadoff single that landed on the warning track, ricochetted off the wall and ended up in Pérez's glove. From there, Pérez threw a one-hopper to Báez, ahead of Soderstrom's head-first slide into second base.
The second play: Jacob Wilson hit a single that landed in right field, with Pérez fielding the ball, spinning toward the foul line and firing another one-hopper to Báez, ahead of Wilson's feet-first slide into second base.
The A's had three singles in a row in the seventh but did not score, thanks to Pérez.
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Entering Tuesday, Pérez had just one outfield assist in his two-year MLB career, spanning 1,020⅔ innings: 759⅓ innings in right field, 232⅓ innings in center and 29 innings in left.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers thump Athletics, 11-4, after early home runs
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