KANSAS CITY — Tarik Skubal has been exceptional for the Tigers since Opening Day, but at Kauffman Stadium, his performance falters.
This statistical weakness has plagued him even before his recent dominant stretch. It was on his mind when he defeated the Royals at Comerica Park on April 28.
“It’s good to face this team at home, but hopefully the next time I face this team it’s in Kauffman so I can rewrite that one too,” he said after that game. “They’ve kind of hit me around a little bit, and I don’t like that.”
Skubal got his chance on Wednesday afternoon. However, despite anticipating a matchup with fellow lefty changeup specialist Cole Ragans, he didn’t expect the Royals to handle his changeup and fastball so effectively.
By the time Riley Greene hit a two-out single in the sixth inning for the Tigers’ first hit off Ragans, Skubal had already thrown his final pitch, having allowed four runs over five innings—matching the total runs he allowed in his previous three starts combined. This led to his first loss since last August, ending a 14-game unbeaten streak where he was 10-0 with a 1.48 ERA. The Royals swept the series, handing the Tigers an 8-3 defeat and dropping them three games under .500 for the first time this year.
This series was a significant statement for the Royals, who never trailed and continued to be a nightmare for Skubal at Kauffman Stadium. While he has pitched 11 innings of one-run ball in the Royals’ last two visits to Detroit, he is 1-5 with a 6.14 ERA at Kauffman, his highest ERA in any division rival’s park.