Tarik Skubal takes center stags as Tigers clash with Twins

Tarik Skubal is a lock to make the All-Star Game for the second straight season. The Detroit Tigers left-hander will get another showcase Sunday night when he starts against the visiting Minnesota Twins in a standalone nationally televised game.

Skubal has collected the victory in all four of his June starts, though he needed a lot of help from his teammates in his most recent outing. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner gave up two-run homers in each of the first two innings against the Athletics on Tuesday.

"Not the way you want to start a game," he said.

Skubal (9-2, 2.29 ERA) didn't allow another run the next four innings while the Tigers rallied to take the lead and the eventual 11-4 victory.

"Anytime you give up four early, you have to grind to keep your team in it," Skubal said. "It becomes almost more mental than physical. But that's just part of the game. I'm proud of myself for grinding through it and keeping our team in it."

Skubal hasn't been charged with a loss since his first two starts of the season, both of which came on the road. In nine home starts, he's 7-0 with a 2.30 ERA.

"Winning is fun," he said. "Winning cures everything. Bad day, good day, if you walk away with a win, it doesn't really matter, right?"

Skubal has made 12 career starts against the Twins, posting a 4-3 record and 3.52 ERA.

Minnesota right-hander Chris Paddack (3-6, 4.64) will need to be a lot sharper than he's pitched recently to keep his team in the game. He's allowed 18 earned runs in his past four starts spanning 20 innings.

In his most recent start on Tuesday, Paddack pitched five innings but gave up five runs (four earned) in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners. The Twins lost 6-5, but Paddack took a no-decision.

"I have to do a better job of not letting these long innings occur," Paddack said. "We're human beings. It's going to happen again, even though I'm saying I don't want it to happen. But I feel like I've been around enough to where I've got to be able to make those adjustments. If you look at the first two innings and the last two innings, I'm capable of putting up zeros. Maybe [they] don't put up five, maybe they only put up two. There's a difference there."

Paddack faced Detroit on April 12, giving up two runs (one earned) in five innings but took the 4-0 loss. He's 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in two career outings against the Tigers.

The teams split the first two games of the series. The Twins won 4-1 on Friday and Detroit, behind four homers, rolled to a 10-5 victory on Saturday.

The Tigers got a boost from Matt Vierling, who was activated from the injured list after a rehab stint in Triple-A Toledo. Vierling has been battling a shoulder injury since spring training. He went back on the IL after playing four games last month.

Vierling had a hit, scored a run and knocked in another on Saturday.

"I'm so grateful to be back," he told MLB.com. "Going back on [the injured list] there again kind of took a toll on me for a couple weeks, so to be able to be back with the boys, I'm just so grateful to be here and realize how lucky we are."

--Field Level Media