DETROIT -- On a night the Tigers honored their 1984 World Series champions at Comerica Park, Tarik Skubal made some history of his own, becoming the fourth Tigers left-hander with a 200-strikeout season thanks to a career-high eight innings and eight strikeouts Saturday in a 2-1 win over the Red Sox.

Skubal (16-4) continued his path towards becoming the third Tiger to win a pitching Triple Crown, lowering his ERA to 2.51 while becoming the first pitcher to 200 strikeouts in MLB this season. More important to him, he helped the Tigers rebound from back-to-back losses and stay within sight of the AL Wild Card race. He fell behind early when Tyler O’Neill crushed a slider deep to left for his 25th home run of the season, but held Boston to three singles and an infield error the rest of his way.

When Trey Sweeney’s two-run double in the second inning put Detroit in front, Skubal quashed any idea of a Red Sox answer. When Jarren Duran singled and reached second on Skubal’s throwing error with two outs in the third, Skubal fanned Rob Refsnyder on a 98 mph fastball to end the threat.

Skubal avenged the O’Neill home run by striking him out looking at a 97 mph fastball at the top of the zone in the fourth inning, then fanning him on back-to-back changeups to strand a runner in the sixth.

The sixth-inning strikeout, Skubal’s seventh of the night, was his 200th of the season, joining him with Mickey Lolich, Hal Newhouser and Matthew Boyd as the only Tigers lefties with 200-strikeout campaigns. Lolich did it seven times from 1965 to 1974. Newhouser did it as part of his Triple Crown season in 1945, then repeated it in ’46. Boyd struck out 238 batters in 2019.

Skubal did it all efficiently, throwing just 84 pitches over his first seven innings. Though manager A.J. Hinch had referenced giving Skubal extra rest down the stretch, his work Saturday allowed him to pitch into the eighth inning for the first time in his Major League career. His 98th and final pitch of the night was a 99 mph fastball -- one of six pitches Skubal threw at 99 and above -- to fan Ceddanne Rafaela.