Tarik Skubal dominant as Tigers complete sweep of Reds

Whatever else Detroit Tigers' Nation has endured this season, all the ups and all the downs, every fifth day, they get to enjoy Tarik Skubal.

And, as he showed again on Sunday, that’s pretty special.

Skubal, on the day he was expected to be selected to the American League All-Star team, dominated the Cincinnati Reds for seven innings and helped the Tigers complete the three-game sweep at Great American Ball Park, 5-1.

He was in full howl. He howled after he struck out Jonathan India to end the third inning, stranding a runner at second base.

He howled again after he ended the sixth inning punching out Elly De La Cruz for his 12th strikeout. That tied his career-best and he was just at 76 pitches.

Then he howled for the last time when he struck out Austin Wynns to end the seventh, again stranding a runner at second, establishing a new career-high with 13 strikeouts.

He allowed only three hits and the one run he allowed in the seventh was facilitated by a misplay by shortstop Zach McKinstry.

Former Tiger Jeimer Candelario led off the seventh with a two-strike, opposite-field bloop double. Spencer Steer hit a routine ground-ball to McKinstry who booted it. Candelario went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Noelvi Marte.

McKinstry more than made up for the error in the top of the 8th. He’d single in a run in the fourth inning, and then, after Gio Urshela, who had three hits, reached on a two-out error by Marte at third base. McKinstry followed with a booming, two-run homer to right.

But this day belonged to Skubal.

He got strikeouts with four of his five pitches and he stole four early called strikes with a knuckle curveball.

The Reds whiffed on 23 of their 51 swings. Skubal got 12 misses on 18 swings with his changeup, 5 on 16 swings with his four-seamer and six on 12 swings with his slider.

Skubal put his name in the Tigers’ record books alongside Mickey Lolich. They are the only two pitchers in club history to record 13 strikeouts, no walks and one or no runs in a start.

It was impressive.

The only down note for the Tigers was centerfielder Parker Meadows limped off the field after being caught stealing at second base to end the eighth. He grabbed at his hamstring.

Meadows, just called back up from Triple-A Toledo on Friday, had four hits in the series, including an RBI single Sunday.

The Tigers (42-48) survive the three-city 10-game road trip with a 5-5 record.

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