Tigers score season-high 13 runs, blank Diamondbacks in opener
The offense started hot and didn't let up along with an excellent pitching performance by Tarik Skubal, as the Tigers put up a season-high 13 runs and cruised to a 13-0 victory over the Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Friday night.
In the first of a three-game series against Arizona, the Tigers (22-22) defeated a team they hadn't beaten since 2022, getting back to .500 after a disappointing series against the Marlins. Detroit failed to score a run in the final 19 innings against last-place Miami at Comerica Park.
On offense, Detroit put up 13 runs on 17 hits without a single home run in the not-so-homer-friendly Chase Field. Every Tigers starter got at least one hit except for catcher Jake Rogers. Colt Keith went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs and Javier Báez was 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs.
"I was able to relax today, get my timing down," Keith said in a post-game interview with Bally Sports Detroit. "I had some lucky hits but I also poked some the other way and when I've been on in the past I've been able to do that and it felt really good to find the barrel a couple of times.
BOX SCORE: Tigers 13, Diamondbacks 0
"We were in a really good spot coming into the game, and you saw how it went. We had Skubal doing his thing and we had Javi getting hits, (Spencer) Tork getting hits, (Matt) Vierling got a few hits, we were just hitting all around. Everybody's hitting the ball and having a lot of fun."
On the mound, Skubal (6-0) retired the first 13 batters he faced and only gave up one hit while striking out six. He allowed no walks in six innings, throwing just 74 pitches in an efficient start in his Cy Young watch.
Skubal's performances on the mound are common for this season. An offensive performance like this, a season-high in both hits and runs, has been rare for a team with good pitching but lackluster run support.
In this game, the Tigers went after Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson's fastballs and cutters for multiple extra-base hits along with aggressive baserunning to put runs on the board.
The Tigers went 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position with seven extra-base hits as six batters had two or more hits.
"It was great to see," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said in a post-game interview. "I mean we've obviously been waiting and hoping for a night like that and it came together at a good time for us. I mean obviously we've done this before and this is a good version of us but one good at-bat after another is pretty awesome to see."
One player who needed a game like this was Báez, who has struggled at the plate. His three hits were the most he's had this year and his first multi-hit game since April 22 against the Rays.
In the fifth inning, Vierling led off with a triple and Keith singled again to left field to bring Vierling home for the Tigers' sixth run.
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After Torkelson was hit by a pitch, Nelson was pulled after four innings, giving up six runs on 11 hits on 83 pitches thrown. The Tigers' bats didn't stop, as Báez ripped an RBI double against relief pitcher Matt Bowman. Then Greene got a hit just past second baseman Ketel Marte to send Báez home for a 9-0 lead.
Bowman continued to struggle in a woeful fifth inning for the Diamondbacks, as Carpenter had another extra-base hit, an RBI-double for an 11-0 lead.
The Diamondbacks finally got a hit against Skubal when Randal Grichuk doubled off the center-field wall, but that was the only Arizona hit against Skubal.
The Tigers put up two more runs in the top of the sixth when Báez drove in Torkelson and Keith on another double, making it 13-0 and sealing the victory. Will Vest and Joey Wentz pitched the last three innings of the game, giving up just two hits total and striking out three to end the game.
The Tigers will play the Diamondbacks again Saturday night, the second of a six-game road trip.
Kameron Goodwill is a freelance writer.