The Detroit Tigers will have their ace on the mound when they go for their fifth straight victory on Thursday afternoon.
Colorado will have the unenviable task of facing left-hander Tarik Skubal. The Tigers (75-71) have already secured the first two games of the series against the visiting Rockies. Detroit is in the midst of a six-game homestand.
The Tigers won 7-4 on Wednesday behind a six-run first, their biggest first-inning output since 2018. Trey Sweeney had the big blow, a three-run homer.
“We’re just confident right now,” said Kerry Carpenter, who supplied four hits. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can swing it and they’re swinging it really well. We’re going up there on the attack and it showed in the first inning.”
Skubal is not only the American League Cy Young Award favorite, he’s chasing a pitching Triple Crown. He’s tied for the most wins (16) and leads the AL in ERA (2.53). He’s also battling Kansas City’s Cole Ragans for the most strikeouts (208 to Ragans’ 204).
Skubal (16-4) has been tagged with only one loss since June 19. He pitched a career-high eight innings against the Boston Red Sox in his last August start but his first September outing didn’t go as smoothly. He allowed two runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings at Oakland on Friday.
“I got ‘baseball-ed’ a little bit, but that’s part of the game. It was just frustrating,” Skubal said. “Balls falling in, broken bats, balls hit on the line, it’s probably just frustration more than anything. But, it’s part of the game, so you just move on.”
Skubal’s lone career outing against Colorado came in April 2022. He tossed six shutout innings and collected a victory.
Ryan Feltner (2-10, 4.96 ERA) will start the series finale for the Rockies (54-92). Feltner delivered one of his best outings of the season Friday. He held the Milwaukee Brewers to one run and two hits in six innings, notching his first win since April 12.
Feltner, who has not faced the Tigers in his career, had a 3.68 ERA in his previous 10 starts but didn’t get enough run support.
“It’s something I can’t control,” Feltner said. “I just try to do my job.”
Rockies manager Bud Black has been impressed with the way Feltner has battled throughout the season despite going 22 starts without a win until last week.
“It’s no fun as a starting pitcher when you look at your record. It can be very, very tough. It can be demoralizing,” Black said. “The coaches have done a great job continuing to encourage him. The wins are going to come in a big way if he pitches like he did (Friday).
“He’s done a good job of keeping his chin up, his chest out and walking around as if he’s a successful major league pitcher. That’s hard to do sometimes when you see the win/loss record. But we know how good he can be and that’s what’s kept him going. His teammates have been great with him, too, and that also helps.”
