ATLANTA — There is an art to pitching where a pitcher can get hitters to take bad swings at pitches that turn into lazy fly balls or routine groundouts. Tarik Skubal put on that kind of performance on Wednesday against the Braves, the team with the best record in the Majors, crafting his latest art piece.
“I would love to go out there and strike every single guy out, but I think I’d probably find myself being done pitching after about three or four innings, just with pitch counts and stuff,” Skubal said on Tuesday. “That’s part of being a starter, you have to pitch deeper in the games, and now you need to get swing and miss when you need to, in certain situations. But for the most part, a nice routine ground ball for me on a first or second pitch is just as good as a strikeout.”
By his own definition, Skubal delivered at Truist Park. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner worked seven innings, allowing five hits — four singles — while striking out seven on 91 pitches. He leaned on his four-seam fastball while mixing in a changeup, sinker and slider.
The defense behind him helped complete the picture, turning two double plays to erase traffic and keep innings clean.
Skubal’s night began with a strikeout of Ronald Acuña Jr. on a foul tip to open the game. Drake Baldwin followed with a single, bringing Ozzie Albies to the plate. On the second pitch he saw, Albies jumped on a 95.7 mph fastball up and in the zone and drove it a Statcast-projected 400 feet to left field for a two-run homer, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Detroit responded in the second. Wenceel Pérez doubled to left to open the frame, and Jace Jung worked a walk to put two aboard. With one out, Kevin McGonigle lined a single to center, scoring Pérez to cut into the deficit. Jung later came home on a throwing error by JR Ritchie on a pickoff attempt, tying the game at 2-2.
In the third, Riley Greene provided the swing that put the Tigers out front. He got out in front of an 87.9 mph changeup and drove it to straightaway center field for a go-ahead solo homer, a 417-foot shot that left his bat at 106.2 mph.
From there, Skubal settled into rhythm. He struck out Acuña in all three of his plate appearances, including another punchout in the third, and continued to work efficiently through the heart of Atlanta’s order.
There was a brief moment of concern in the seventh when Skubal appeared to shake out some discomfort during an at-bat against Matt Olson. After a quick mound visit, he threw a few warmup pitches and stayed in to finish the inning striking out all three batters.
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