Max Clark’s clutch triple spoiled Tarik Skubal’s dominant homecoming, but Freddie Freeman’s late-inning heroics ultimately silenced Comerica Park and secured a gritty victory for the Dodgers.
For much of Friday night, the Tigers found ways to stay even with the Dodgers despite repeatedly pitching with traffic on the bases. Max Clark then supplied the first breakthrough against former teammate Tarik Skubal. In the end, one late swing from Freddie Freeman separated the two teams.
Freeman's two-out RBI single in the eighth inning scored Teoscar Hernandez and lifted Los Angeles to a 2-1 win at Comerica Park. Detroit had an opportunity to answer in the bottom of the inning, putting the tying run at third, but could not bring Clark home.
Skubal, pitching at Comerica Park with a mix of boos and cheers, allowed one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Detroit countered with Drew Anderson, who worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and five walks. Anderson struck out five before Drew Sommers came on with the bases loaded in the fifth and struck out Max Muncy to preserve a scoreless game.
Detroit had an immediate chance against Skubal when Gleyber Torres doubled to open the bottom of the first, but Skubal retired Hao-Yu Lee, Kevin McGonigle and Dillon Dingler to strand him. From there, Skubal settled in and kept the Tigers off the board until the fifth.
Eduardo Valencia opened that inning with a double to left. After Ben Malgeri grounded out and Spencer Torkelson struck out, Clark came to the plate with two outs and Valencia still at second. Clark lined a triple to left, scoring Valencia and giving Detroit a 1-0 lead.
Clark said his approach was built around contact rather than trying to match power with one of baseball's most difficult pitchers. He expected Skubal to return to his changeup after using it effectively during their first matchup and adjusted his timing accordingly.
"I just trusted my hands and tried to play it the other way," Clark said. "Obviously, it felt good to come through with runners in scoring position."
The at-bat was meaningful for Clark beyond the identity of the pitcher. He acknowledged that recent opportunities with runners in scoring position had not gone the way he wanted. Against Skubal, the goal was to simplify the assignment rather than try to create power against a pitcher with several swing-and-miss weapons.
"That's not a guy you want to try and slug off of because he's got too many weapons," Clark said. "I can create the slug with speed."
The Dodgers tied the game in the sixth, although Detroit nearly escaped another jam. Kyle Tucker reached second on Kevin McGonigle's throwing error. Pinch-hitter Enrique Hernandez then singled to right, but Malgeri threw Tucker out at the plate. After Teoscar Hernandez walked, pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas singled to center to score Enrique Hernandez and make it 1-1. Sommers recovered to strike out Shohei Ohtani and end the inning.
Detroit's bullpen escaped another bases-loaded situation in the seventh. Tyler Holton allowed a single to Freeman, threw a wild pitch, hit Tommy Edman and walked Tucker before Jacob Waguespack entered. Waguespack induced a popout from Enrique Hernandez to leave the bases loaded and keep the game tied.
Los Angeles finally broke through in the eighth. Teoscar Hernandez singled, moved to second on Ben Rortvedt's sacrifice bunt and reached third on Ohtani's groundout. Freeman followed with a sharp two-out single to center, scoring Hernandez for the 2-1 lead.
The Tigers created their best late opportunity immediately afterward. Clark led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk and Brett Callahan, pinch-hitting for Javier Baez, singled to right. Torres then grounded into a double play, moving Clark to third but leaving Detroit with two outs. The Dodgers intentionally walked Lee before Alex Vesia entered and got McGonigle to fly out sharply to center.
Tanner Scott retired Dingler, Corey Julks and Malgeri in order in the ninth to finish the game.
Clark's fifth-inning triple stood as Detroit's only run, but his night also illustrated the adjustment he believed was necessary against Skubal. Clark said Skubal's sinker and four-seam fastball were difficult to square up, while the deception on his changeup was the part that could not be fully reproduced through advance scouting or pitching-machine work.
"What makes it an 80 is the deception," Clark said. "You can't replicate that. It's Skubal. Nobody can explain it."
The matchup carried additional meaning because Clark spent more than two years around Skubal in the Tigers organization. He described Skubal as a teammate who made himself available to younger players and said the left-hander helped him through a difficult stretch during spring training.
"It was cool to see him," Clark said. "For the two and a half years that I knew him, elite teammate, elite guy. He was always there as a listening ear and a voice."
For Clark, the 2-1 game also offered the kind of environment Detroit's young group will continue to encounter as it develops at the major league level: limited scoring opportunities, high-leverage at-bats and little room for mistakes.
Detroit will try to draw even in the series tomorrow at 1:10pm.
