Fastball

Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal on Unfortunate Side of Baseball History in Loss to Toronto Blue Jays

The Detroit Tigers lost on Sunday, but it wasn't any fault of left-handed starter Tarik Skubal.

Brady Farkas

Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal on Unfortunate Side of Baseball History in Loss to Toronto Blue Jays
Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal on Unfortunate Side of Baseball History in Loss to Toronto Blue Jays /
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The Detroit Tigers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, 4-3, in 10 innings.

One day after being no-hit, the Blue Jays scored two runs in the ninth to tie the game and then got the winner in the 10th.

The loss was no fault of Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who threw four scoreless innings and struck out five in his second start off the injured list.

Unfortunately, the productivity on the mound couple with the lack of run support put Skubal in some unfortunate baseball history.

Per @OptaSTATS on Twitter:

Tarik Skubal of the Tigers is the second pitcher in the modern era to throw 5+ strikeouts and allow zero runs in each of his first two starts of the season while also having his team lose both starts. 

He joins Derek Lowe, who did so in 2001 with the Red Sox.

The Modern Era extends back to 1901 so this is rarified air that Skubal is in. The 26-year-old is 16-24 in his career with a 4.05 ERA but his health is a big lift for a Tigers team that is trying to stay relevant in the American League Central.

After the loss, Detroit is 39-50 and 5.5 games back in the division. The win moved Toronto to 50-41. They are seven games back in the American League East.

After the All-Star break, the Tigers will travel to Seattle for a series with the Mariners. Toronto will open up the second half of the season at home against the Diamondbacks.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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