Detroit Tigers back up Tarik Skubal with actual offense in 6-0 win in Game 1 of doubleheader

The Detroit Tigers' scoreless streak ended after 28 innings.

Two runs in the fifth inning — creating activity in the run column for the first time since Saturday's third inning against the Houston Astros — jumpstarted the Tigers en route to a 6-0 win in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics at Comerica Park.

"I thought our at-bats were good," manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Tigers (9-20) snapped their six-game losing skid in the second of five matchups in the series with the Athletics. Left-hander Tarik Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings on 92 pitches, lowering his season-long ERA to 2.94 over six starts.

"We love to score," Skubal said. "It's just been kind of unfortunate. We've been hitting the ball hard right at guys, and we just haven't had that break. It was good to put up six runs today and win."

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For Game 1, the Tigers served as the road team in their home ballpark. The teams had to reschedule three games that were postponed due to MLB's lockout delaying the regular season.

"I'm lucky someone said something in the dugout because I was going to run out (to the mound) at 1:08 (p.m.) or whatever," Skubal said. "I knew I was away, but I was like, 'Thank God someone said that.' Someone said that when I was in the dugout, at like 1:04."

In Game 2, right-hander Alex Faedo will make the second start of his MLB career.

As Skubal cruised through Oakland's lineup, the Tigers' offense backed him with more than enough production to win the game. The group finished with six runs on 11 hits, four walks and six strikeouts.

Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas lasted into the seventh inning and used 105 pitches. He allowed four runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts, departing from the mound after walking Robbie Grossman with one out in the seventh.

"We already won the first game, let's go win the second one," Skubal said. "Everyone wants to win again. Every game that we step foot on, we're trying to win. We're never trying to lose."

Signs of life at the plate

The Tigers didn't score against Montas until the fifth inning.

The first three batters — Jonathan Schoop, Willi Castro and Tucker Barnhart — reached safely to load the bases with no outs in the fifth. Schoop worked an eight-pitch walk, Castro hit a bloop single and Barnhart executed a bunt single.

"Hopefully, that brings some confidence and some positive feedback," Hinch said when asked about Schoop's improvement. "I mean, these guys need hits. You can encourage them, you can hug them, you can love on them, but what they need is hits."

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Detroit didn't waste its opportunity.

Derek Hill produced a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Schoop to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. Grossman extended the lead to 2-0 when he plated Castro upon grounding into a force out.

One inning later, the Tigers tacked on their third run with a power swing.

With two outs in the sixth, Schoop unloaded on Montas' third-pitch slider for a solo home run. The ball — hit with a 110.9 mph exit velocity — traveled 407 feet and beyond the left-field wall.

It was Schoop's second homer this season, his first since April 13.

The 30-year-old second baseman finished 2-for-3 and carries a three-game hitting streak. Schoop has the lowest batting average of the regulars in the lineup, at .154 across 28 games, but appears to be coming out of his slump.

"I'm over it," Schoop said. "I've been doing this for a long time. It's frustrating sometimes, but you just got to erase it and keep going, especially when you're losing. If you're winning, it's better. If you're losing, it's not that great. It's still early. We just got to get in a groove, be good again and try to win."

Skubal sits 'em down

Over seven scoreless innings, Skubal gave up three hits and three walks while striking out five. He turned in one of the best starts of his career and has been the Tigers' top arm in the rotation this season.

The 25-year-old worked efficiently against the Athletics, especially early in his start with 10 pitches in the first inning, six in the second and 12 in the third. His fastball sat around 94 mph, maxing out around 96 mph.

"My fastball didn't really have quite the life it usually does," Skubal said. "I relied on the slider a little bit more today. ... I was able to command my fastball a little bit better, especially to my arm side, so it kind of helped me get away with the lack of extra life that it usually has."

Skubal ran into minor trouble in the fourth, issuing back-to-back two-out walks, but a mound visit from pitching coach Chris Fetter helped him escape. Kevin Smith flied out on a first-pitch slider to end the 21-pitch inning.

"He's really dominant," Hinch said. "His stuff is really good, his preparation is good, he holds himself to a super high bar. He was so mad at himself on a few pitches that he got away with. That's actually encouraging, for a pitcher to judge himself not only when things don't go well but even when he was getting outs. He's getting pretty dialed in for a young pitcher."

Smith threatened the Tigers' shutout when he hit Skubal's changeup for a one-out bloop double. The ball dropped in front of a charging Hill in center field. To work out of the jam, Skubal made a sharp defensive stop and turned a double play.

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Elvis Andrus drilled a comebacker to Skubal, who turned toward the outfield and ran straight at Smith between second and third base. Skubal flipped the ball to Báez and the rundown began.

Candelario tagged out Smith, then fired the ball to Schoop.

And Schoop tagged out Andrus trying to advance to second base.

"It was a good play," Skubal said. "No damage was done, so of course I was excited for that."

For his 92 pitches, Skubal used 30 sliders, 23 sinkers, 21 four-seam fastballs, 12 changeups and six curveballs. He had nine swings and misses, including three with his slider and two each with his sinker and four-seamer. He added 16 called strikes.

"I'm very confident in my stuff and my ability to go out there and get guys out," Skubal said. "Even if my fastball's not great that day, I can lean on my slider and my changeup, and then toss in that curveball."

Finishing strong

The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning against left-handed reliever Kirby Snead, who replaced Montas following the one-out walk to Grossman. Austin Meadows and Báez tallied consecutive singles.

Candelario drove in all three teammates.

His double to center field upped the Tigers' lead to 6-0.

"Candy's hit felt like the biggest hit of the year," Hinch said. "It allowed us to exhale a little bit with a bigger lead. We still weren't to the end of the game, but we hadn't had that big hit. Hopefully, that's a good sign."

Right-handed reliever Joe Jimenez replaced Skubal for the eighth inning. Righty Drew Hutchison tossed the ninth.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers back up Tarik Skubal with actual offense in 6-0 win