KANSAS CITY, Mo. ā Tarik Skubal allowed three hits over five innings for his 17th win and the streaking Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night to move within a half game of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining.
Riley Greene hit a go-ahead home run as the Tigers (80-73) won their fourth straight and ninth in the last 11 games. With the series sweep, Detroit won for the 25th time in 35 games to move within a half game of Minnesota (80-72) for the third AL wild-card spot.
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āThese guys, first of all we believe, and second we come every day to try to win the game, and we are winning a lot, which is fun to watch these guys learn and grow and compete until the end of the game,ā Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
Skubal (17-4), who has won his last five decisions, made his case for the AL Cy Young Award stronger by matching Atlantaās Chris Sale for the major league lead in wins and lowered his AL-leading earned run average to 2.48. He walked one and struck out seven.
āReally proud of the guys. Last time we came here we were on the other side of the sweep,ā Skubal said. āWeāve got a great group, a resilient group. I mean if you just look at the season that weāve had, I think it shows in this series.ā
Skubal had struggled against the Royals in the past, entering Wednesday with a 2-9 record and 5.05 ERA in 12 starts over 14 appearances. After allowing three hits and Yuli Gurrielās two-out RBI single in the first inning, he threw four hitless innings.
āWe put some good at-bats on him early, but once he got the runs, five of the next six hitters were 0-2 counts. Heās coming after us,ā Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Skubal. āBut thatās how he pitches. Heās not picking at the corners. Heās got elite stuff and he knows it.ā
Skubal screamed after striking out Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez with two on for his final out in the fifth.
āFor me itās always about executing pitches,ā Skubal said. āIf I can execute pitches at a high clip, I like my chances against anybody, no matter how many times theyāve seen me."
Hinch was happy to see his ace battle through 95 pitches though he wasnāt as sharp as his previous starts.
āIt was a big fight for him, but he did a great job,ā Hinch said. āSometimes five is enough, and he did his job by getting the biggest out against his biggest nemesis and showed a ton of emotion. ... If he somehow isnāt able to make pitches to Salvy, who has been good against him, this gameās completely different. Heās our guy. We needed our guy to do his part, and he did."
The Royals (82-71), who lost their fourth straight, were swept for the first time at home this season and the third time overall. They remained 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the first wild-card spot and 1 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota for the second wild card. The Orioles and Twins both lost earlier Wednesday.
Skubal struck out major league batting leader Bobby Witt Jr. twice before hitting him with a pitch in the fifth. Witt, who became the first player in major league history with multiple seasons of 30 home runs and 30 steals in his first three seasons Tuesday, broke Hal McRaeās 1977 franchise record with his 87th extra-base hit of the season with a bloop double to lead off the eighth.
Perez then drove in Witt with a single off reliever Brenan Hanifee. Sean Guenther preserved the 4-2 lead with a double play and a fly out. Guenther got the first out of the ninth and Will Vest got the final two for his second save.
Royals starter Alec Marsh (8-9), coming off a career-high 11 strikeouts in his last start, lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks.
Perez and Gurriel, who is hitting .385 since the Royals acquired him from Atlanta, each had two hits for the Royals.
TRAINERāS ROOM
Tigers: Rookie 3B Colt Keith is day to day after reinjuring his right shoulder in Tuesdayās game on a diving attempt in the field. He has had a right shoulder problem in three straight seasons. He did not play Wednesday, but Hinch said he would hit in the batting cage during the game. āIt could have been much worse,ā Hinch said.
UP NEXT
Tigers: Detroit has not announced a starter for Fridayās series opener at Baltimore.
Royals: RHP Michael Wacha (13-7, 3.29) is scheduled to start Fridayās home series opener against San Francisco. Wacha is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in nine career starts against the Giants and 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA this season at home.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb