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Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal dominate New York Yankees with 4 solo home runs in shutout win
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- Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal dominate New York Yankees with 4 solo home runs in shutout win
Tarik Skubal settled into a dominant groove for most of his outing on Tuesday against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park.
The Detroit Tigers (7-4) rode their ace who kept the Yankees off the base path and the bats quiet in a dominant six-inning start, guiding the Tigers to the 5-0 win over New York.
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Skubal allowed singles from Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice to start the game, but got out of the first inning by striking out Aaron Judge swinging on a changeup, getting Jazz Chisolm to roll over a weak comebacker and striking out Anthony Volpe looking with a 99.4 mph fastball on the outside corner.
From there, Skubal didn't face another issue until the sixth inning. He retired 16 straight Yankees batters from the first inning until the sixth, not allowing a base runner until Goldschmidt reached on an infield single in his final inning.
"The sun was out, but he still had a hard time keeping his hand warm," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He got into the game with a couple of base hits and then he's under pressure, he gets the big out in the first. And then like most guys that are legit, top-end rotation guys, if you don't get him early, he settles in.
"He was able to really catch a rhythm and start executing and throw any pitch he wanted."
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches against the New York Yankees in the first inning during the MLB game at Comerica Park in Detroit, Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
The Tigers, meanwhile, provided more than enough run support after getting to Yankees starter Carlos Carrasco in the fourth inning. The Tigers hit three solo home runs in the fourth to push the lead to 4-0 after striking first with a Zach McKinstry sacrifice fly.
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Spencer Torkelson drove the first pitch of the inning 404 feet into the Yankees' bullpen in left center field. After a Colt Keith groundout, right fielder Zach McKinstry and catcher Dillon Dingler hit consecutive solo shots. It is the first time the Tigers have hit three home runs in the same inning since 2020 .
"You never know how the ball is going to fly," Hinch said in reference to the temperatures hovering in the 30s. "It's a little windy, ours weren't wind-blown, but it was nice that our guys got the ball in the air to the pull side."
Kerry Carpenter hit the fourth solo home run in the fifth inning. The Yankees brought in left-handed reliever Ryan Yarbrough to face him, but Carpenter pulled a slider into the right-field seats for his fourth home run of the season.
The Tigers have won five straight games to open the first homestand of the season and seven of their last eight.
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"We like playing at home, whether it is snowing or raining, windy, cold, 32 (degrees)," Skubal said. "It doesn't matter. Get us in Comerica Park and we are going to put out a good product."
INJURY NEWS: Detroit Tigers place C Jake Rogers on 10-day IL with oblique injury
Skubal dominates with new catcher
Skubal picked up his first win of 2025 after starting the season 0-2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mariners .
And he picked up his first win with Dingler behind the plate instead of Jake Rogers . The Tigers placed Rogers on the 10-day injured list after he experienced left-oblique tightness while warming up on Tuesday. Rogers caught all of Skubal's starts during his Cy Young season in 2024 as his preferred battery mate.
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"I trust all the guys that we bring up that are catchers," Skubal said. "I don't know if that's A.J. or (catching coach Ryan) Sienko or whatever combination it is with the pitching coaches, they are really good back there."
Skubal didn't skip a beat with a new face behind the plate. He threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He threw 87 pitches with 58 strikes. He generated 11 whiffs on 44 swings from the Yankees, including six with his fastball and four with his changeup.
"I really didn't want to shake today at all because I wanted to show him that I trust him," Skubal said. "There's a little bit of thought into that like 'Hey, call the game and I'm going to throw whatever you call, that's how comfortable I am with you.'"
Reliever Brant Hurter pitched the final three innings scoreless with three strikeouts for his second save of the season.
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Tigers' (solo) home run party
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (30) and Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene (31) point to the sky before the start of the game against the New York Yankees during the MLB game at Comerica Park in Detroit, Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Torkelson recorded the Tigers' first hit to lead off the second inning with a ground-rule double into the right-center field gap. He reached third on a Keith single and then scored on a deep flyball to right from McKinstry.
The next time up, Torkelson squared up a slider on the outside corner for a no-doubter to the gap on the other side of the outfield for his third home run of the season. McKinstry turned on a high sinker from Carrasco for a 377-foot home run, his first of the season. Three pitches later, Dingler got his hands to an inside sinker off the plate for a 379-foot home run, his second of the season.
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Carpenter followed it up with his second home run off a left-handed reliever specifically brought in to face him, and fourth overall of 2025. He got in front of Yarbrough's 70 mph slider for the 361-foot home run.
Jared Ramsey covers sports for the Detroit Free Press . Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com ; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky .
Next up: Yankees
Matchup: Tigers (7-4) vs. N.Y. Yankees (6-5).
First pitch: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday; Comerica Park, Detroit .
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Probable pitchers: Tigers — RHP Jack Flaherty (1-0, 2.38 ERA); Yankees — LHP Max Fried (1-0, 2.61).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tiger score: Tarik Skubal dominates Yankees in shutout win
