Skubal hurt by HRs; Tigers fall in finale

Looking to help his club avoid a sweep, Tarik Skubal was hit hard and early on Sunday.

Skubal allowed two first-inning home runs -- a three-run shot to Salvador Perez and one of the solo variety to Jorge Soler in the next at-bat -- in the Tigers' 6-1 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

• Box score

“It's just kind of like, you get punched in the mouth, and then you have to just respond and try and get as deep into the game as you can to save the bullpen arms,” Skubal said about his five-inning outing. “That's kind of what happened today. [I] just got a little ambushed there. That's just part of the game.”

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The lefty finished his day after allowing five runs and three homers, all on his fastball.

Skubal relied on his heater for 25 of his 88 pitches and got one whiff on the 11 swings the Royals took, according to Statcast.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Skubal's inability to get outs with his fastball was a case of leaving some pitches out over the plate.

“They're pretty good fastball hitters against left-handed pitching,” Hinch said. “They ambushed him today in the first. ... It's like, before you even really get settled into the game, it's 3-0.”

Both of the first-inning homers Skubal surrendered came before he recorded an out. He looked much more poised in his later innings.

After Soler's homer, Skubal retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced. He struck out four and didn’t allow a walk. The only other hit he allowed was a second round-tripper from Soler, in the third inning.

Skubal said Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter’s advice to continue attacking hitters through his final four innings helped him find a more consistent groove.

“Fett came out there and was like, 'Let's just be aggressive,’” Skubal said. “‘Just continue to be aggressive. You can't go back in time and change what's already happened.’ That was kind of the mindset for me going forward. I can't reverse the time and take the four runs off the board.”

While Skubal scuffled in the first inning, the Tigers' lineup struggled to figure out Royals starter Daniel Lynch in his eight innings.

The last time the Tigers faced Lynch, they pushed across four runs and he lasted only 2 2/3 innings during a May 13 start at Comerica Park. Sunday was a different story, with Lynch shutting out Detroit over eight innings and limiting the Tigers to five hits.

This time around, Hinch said the Tigers saw a much sharper Lynch, who is the Royals' No. 2-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

“We saw a completely different pitcher today than the one we saw earlier in the season,” Hinch said. “I know he's a top prospect. They have a lot of hope for him and I think today he showed why he's got good stuff. He was in control of the game.”