Pirates Mauled By Tigers; Pitching Crumbles, Had Chances vs. Skubal

The Pittsburgh Pirates faced a tall task in Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in the first game of a doubleheader at Comerica Park on Thursday night.

While the Pirates generated nine baserunners against Skubal, they couldn’t cash in. Continued poor offense combined with pitching woes led to a 9-2 beatdown at the hands of Detroit.

How We Got There

The Tigers (48-27) scored the first seven runs of the game starting with Riley Greene’s sacrifice fly in the first.

After a Gleyber Torres sac fly in the second, Greene drove in three runs with a double that got past Pirates’ center fielder Billy Cook with two outs.

Detroit scored two more runs in the fourth inning before knocking Pirates’ starter Andrew Heaney (3-6) out of the game — once on a Torres double and again on a Spencer Torkleson sacrifice fly.

The Pirates (29-46) finally broke through against Skubal (8-2) on an Andrew McCutchen RBI groundout in the fifth.

Zach McKinstry hit a solo homer to right field off Pirates reliever Chase Shugart in the fifth, and the Tigers scored another later in the inning on Colt Keith’s sacrifice fly.

With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the sixth, Tommy Pham made the score 9-2 with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Key Moment

The Pirates loaded the bases against Skubal with one out in the first inning but Ke’Bryan Hayes struck out before Isiah Kiner-Falefa flied out to right. Gotta capitalize on the chances you get against the tough left-hander.

Star of the Game

Riley Greene finished the game 2 for 4 with a double, a sacrifice fly and matched a season-high with four RBI.

Stat to Know

Tarik Skubal has only taken the loss one time at Comerica Park since the start of last season. It came last season on Aug. 2 against the Royals. He’s now 16-1 when pitching at home over the last two years.

Notable Performances

• Andrew Heaney: 4.0 innings, eight hits, seven runs, three walks, two strikeouts, 85 pitches/46 strikes
• Chase Shugart: 3.0 innings, four hits, two runs, no walks, one strikeout, 50 pitches/31 strikes
• Andrew McCutchen: 2 for 4, one double, one RBI

Noteworthy

• Tarik Skubal allowed two runs on six hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Nine baserunners were tied for the most Skubal allowed in a game this season. He also allowed nine (six hits, three walks) against the Mariners on Apr. 2.
• In 28 games since May 16, Ke’Bryan Hayes is batting .167 (17 for 102) with two extra-base hits.
• OF Jack Suwinski was appointed as the 27th man for the doubleheader. Suwinski entered the game in center field in the bottom of the seventh and went 0 for 1 with a flyout.

Up Next

RHP Paul Skenes (4-6, 1.78 ERA) toes the rubber for Pittsburgh in the second game of the doubleheader. Detroit has yet to announce a starting pitcher. First pitch: 6:10 p.m.