Photo by: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn ImagesTarik Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings and the Detroit Tigers did all their scoring in one inning for a 4-1 victory against the host Baltimore Orioles in Thursday night’s rubber game.
Dillon Dingler and Parker Meadows drilled fourth-inning home runs, with Meadows’ three-run shot the big blow.
Skubal (7-2), who struck out six, limited the Orioles to three singles and two walks. He entered the game without issuing a walk in his previous 23 2/3 innings.
Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest each worked an inning of relief to complete the combined four-hitter.
Javier Baez and Zach McKinstry had two hits apiece for the Tigers, who have won four of their last six.
Baltimore’s Dylan Carlson led off the eighth with a home run off Kahnle, his fourth homer of the year. Carlson finished with three hits.
Keegan Akin worked one scoreless inning, despite Jahmai Jones’ double on the game’s second pitch, in an opener role for Baltimore before Dean Kremer worked the next seven innings. Kremer (5-7) allowed four runs on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.
The first run came on Dingler’s home run with one out in the fourth, his seventh long ball this year. Three batters later, Meadows went deep on a Kremer delivery to expand the margin to 4-0.
It was the first home run of the season for Meadows in his 10th game of the season.
Baltimore was coming off a 10-run outburst in Wednesday night’s victory, but the bats were mostly quiet.
There weren’t an abundance of scoring opportunities with each team stranding five runners. The Orioles threatened against Skubal in the second with a two-out walk and an infield single putting runners at the corners before Colton Cowser struck out.