Tarik Skubal, Tigers take aim at reeling Royals

Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal appears to be rounding into form.

That's bad news for Kansas City's struggling offense as the Royals wrap up a four-game road series against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Detroit will be looking for a series sweep against Kansas City, which has lost six straight.

Skubal (2-2, 2.66 ERA) lost his first two starts this season but has bounced back to notch victories in his last two outings. The Tigers left-hander tossed six scoreless innings against the New York Yankees on April 8, then mesmerized Milwaukee with seven shutout innings on Monday. Skubal has allowed just eight hits without a walk while striking out 15 in those starts.

"Just really good," Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said after Skubal's last start. "It looked like he was in complete control. We spotted him some runs, which is good for any pitcher. But it's an exceptional feeling when you have Tarik on the mound. And he didn't let up. Kind of a vintage performance by Tarik and an all-around good (9-1) team win."

The only trouble Skubal encountered was in the sixth inning when Milwaukee loaded the bases. Skubal then struck out Rhys Hoskins with a fastball that registered 99.6 mph.

"I care about every inning," he said. "I care about getting zeroes and getting our team back in and ready to hit. I try not to let the scoreboard impact who I am."

Skubal actually threw more changeups than four-seam fastballs against the Brewers.

"It makes him incredibly difficult to time up," Hinch said. "If he just threw fastballs alone he'd be tough to time up. But the fact that he can disrupt timing, it makes him a three-dimensional pitcher who can do whatever he wants at any point -- ahead in the count, behind in the count, you want to be super aggressive, he can create movement and get soft contact."

The Royals traditionally have given Skubal difficulty. He's 3-9 with a 4.83 ERA in 15 career outings against them.

His mound opponent on Sunday, veteran right-hander Michael Wacha, is 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA in six career starts versus Detroit.

Wacha (0-3, 4.35) faced the Yankees in his last outing on Tuesday, allowing three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He tossed five scoreless innings before the Yankees broke through.

"It was probably one of the best outings I've seen from Wacha in a long time," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "He was really efficient, had good stuff and a good changeup. He was locating his pitches. He was just out of the zone there a little bit in the sixth. Other than that, it was one of the most efficient outings he has had in a long time."

Wacha doesn't have overpowering stuff but he's only allowed 17 hits in 20 1/3 innings. He was encouraged by his latest outing.

"I felt good on the mound. I felt like we were attacking the zone," he said.

Wacha will try to cool off Spencer Torkelson, who has eight RBIs in the series. Torkelson had a three-run homer in Detroit's 3-1 win on Saturday.

--Field Level Media