Andy Dirks on how the Tigers’ relaxed confidence leads to winning baseball
Andy Dirks, former Tigers player and current TV commentator, talks about what it’s like in the dressing room of a red-hot winning team. Now the whole group is out.
Wenceel Pérez continued to fight.
The hard work paid off.
The 24-year-old faced nine pitches — part of 26 pitches in three meetings — with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning in his third at-bat against right-hander Ryan Pepiot. He fell behind by two strikes after the first two pitches, but refused to get a strikeout. On the ninth pitch, Pérez hit an inside cutter down the right field line for a ground-rule double.
The Detroit Tigers took a step closer to securing a wild-card spot in the American League with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, thanks to the contact skills of Pérez and the dominance of left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound.
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Skubal, the American League’s all but certain Cy Young winner, threw seven scoreless innings with two hits and one walk, six strikeouts and 103 pitches. The 27-year-old will be available if needed for the season finale on September 29 against the Chicago White Sox.
This time, Skubal received a standing ovation from the fans at Comerica Park. He thanked the fans for their support by clapping his glove with his left hand before walking to the team’s dugout.
Skubal has a 2.39 ERA in 31 starts.
The Tigers (83-74) extended their lead in the AL wild card to 1½ games with five games left to play. The Minnesota Twins, who remain out, play the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.
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Before Pérez’s big swing, the Tigers had loaded the bases in the fifth inning with Trey Sweeney’s walk, Jake Rogers’ single and Parker Meadows’ walk. Kerry Carpenter flew out to shallow right field, but with two outs, Pérez delivered by winning a nine-pitch battle.
He never gave up.
Just like the 2024 Tigers never gave up.
Pérez’s ground-rule double gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Pérez walked in each of his first two appearances against Pepiot before hitting a double in the third matchup. The first was an 11-pitch walk, the second a six-pitch walk.
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Tarik Skubal starts
The first two innings didn’t seem easy for Skubal.
The All-Star left-hander needed 19 pitches in the first inning, then took advantage of a double play with catcher Jake Rogers, throwing him out and completing a 14-pitch second inning. During the double play, a strong throw from Rogers brought down the speedy José Caballero.
After that, the Rays never scored against Skubal again. He worked efficiently, striking out 15 of 16 batters in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
Skubal beat Christopher Morel with a quick 97.1 mph to finish his 31st start, screaming with joy on the mound before heading to the dugout.
Finish the job
The Tigers needed a reliever to reach the finish line.
Right-handed reliever Beau Brieske prevented the Rays from scoring in the eighth inning, but after two outs in the ninth inning, Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run into right field.
But Brieske took out pinch hitter Josh Lowe at the end of the game after knocking him out after four pitches.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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