Tarik Skubal strikes out 13 as Detroit Tigers beat Minnesota Twins, 3-0
Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal tied the MLB lead with his 10th win of the season.
In the process, he tied a career high and came close to making history.
On a nationally televised broadcast on ESPN, the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 at Comerica Park on Sunday, June 29. Skubal matched a career-high with 13 strikeouts over seven innings pitched, allowing no runs, one hit and one walk.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 29, 2025.
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After Skubal (10-2) notched a clean first inning, right fielder Kerry Carpenter opened the scoring with a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the first. It was Carpenter's 16th home run of 2025 and the seventh time he has homered in the first inning this season.
Carpenter came through again with two outs in the fifth inning, lining a shot down the right field line. With the ball taking bounces against the corner outfield walls and away from Twins right fielder Willi Castro, Spencer Torkelson was able to score from first base as Carpenter cruised to his second triple of the season, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
It was all the scoring Skubal would need for the Tigers (53-32).
Tarik Skubal matches career high in strikeouts
Skubal struck out 13 batters in the game, matching his career high, set twice (May 25, 2025 and July 7, 2024).
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Considering how well he was pitching early on, his strikeout count could have been a lot higher.
Skubal struck out the side in the second and third innings after setting down the order in the first, striking out eight of the first nine batters he faced. He was two strikeouts away from tying the American League record for consecutive strikeouts in a game (nine), a record set by Tigers pitcher Doug Fister at Comerica Park on Sept. 27, 2012.
Twins star Byron Buxton ended the pursuit of that record with a flyout to left field to lead off the fourth inning, but Skubal got right back to his strikeout form by punching out designated hitter Ryan Jeffers next. He was perfect through the first four innings, striking out nine batters with a brisk 52 pitches.
The MLB record for consecutive strikeouts in a game is held by three pitchers: Tom Seaver (1970), Aaron Nola (2021) and Corbin Burnes (2021), all righties who reached that mark with National League teams.
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Skubal carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before first baseman Ty France broke it up with a one-out single. He struck out left fielder Harrison Bader in the next at-bat, however, for his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season on his 15th batter faced of the game.
He struck out Twins second baseman Brooks Lee next batter, giving him his fifth game with at least 11 strikeouts this season. Only two pitchers in MLB, Spencer Schwellenbach of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox, have even reached three such games this season.
Only three other Tigers pitchers have ever recorded at least five games of at least 11 strikeouts in a season: Justin Verlander (2009), Max Scherzer (2014) and Mickey Lolich, who did it twice (1969, 1971). Skubal now joins that list —before the All-Star break.
The Tiger ace tied his career high in strikeouts in a game (13), set during his complete-game shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on May 25. He matched that mark in the seventh inning, getting France to strike out looking to end the inning.
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He left the game after the seventh with 93 pitches, one strikeout away from setting a career high.
Middle of the order provides the power
Detroit Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter (30) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 29, 2025.
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Carpenter was removed from the game after his triple in the fifth inning, having already homered and notched two RBIs for the Tigers. And he wasn't the only lefty to bring the thump on Sunday.
Tigers left fielder Riley Greene stayed hot in the fourth inning, hitting a solo home run to give the Tigers a 2-0 advantage. The All-Star finalist is hitting .444 with five home runs over his past 12 games and now leads the team with 19 home runs on the season.
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He finished 1-for-4.
Also going 1-for-4 on the night was first baseman Spencer Torkelson, who sent a ball 382 feet to deep center field in the second inning for a loud out and rocketed into another out on a hard line drive to second base in the seventh inning.
But even though those hits didn't find the grass, Torkelson got dirty for one of his most spectacular plays of the season.
With the speedy Bader on first base after a leadoff single in the eighth inning, Tigers reliever Tommy Kahnle forced a hard ground ball from Twins second baseman Brooks Lee. Torkelson dove to his right, snagged it, threw a strike to second base to get Bader out, then rushed back to first in time to receive the throw from Javier Báez for the 3-6-3 double play.
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For his effort, Torkelson got one of the loudest ovations of the night. The loudest, of course, was saved for Skubal when he left the game.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers ride dominant Tarik Skubal in 3-0 win over Minnesota
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