Clutch Matt Vierling home run saves Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal in 6-5 win vs. Angels
Detroit Tigers score: Matt Vierling blasted a pinch-hit 3-run homer in the eighth inning for a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal had completed at least five innings in 38 consecutive starts.
That streak has ended.
But the Tigers won, 6-5, against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, Aug. 8, in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park, thanks to pinch-hitter Matt Vierling's clutch three-run home run in the eighth inning. After that, right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan picked up his 23rd save in the ninth inning.
The homer saved Skubal, who allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 4⅔ innings, throwing 92 pitches. It was his first time failing to complete five innings since June 19, 2024, on the road against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
With the win, the Tigers (67-50) avoided a three-game losing streak and maintained their six-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central.
The Tigers set the table for Vierling with back-to-back walks from pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones and Gleyber Torres. The Tigers then pinch-hit Vierling for Kerry Carpenter, favoring Vierling over Carpenter in a matchup against left-handed reliever Reid Detmers.
The pinch-hit decision paid off.
Vierling turned on an up-and-in 95.7 mph fastball for a three-run home run to left-center field. His homer put the Tigers ahead, 6-5, in the eighth inning.
It was Vierling's first homer of the 2025 season, spanning 30 games.
The Tigers also received a boost from Riley Greene.
Greene had two hits on offense as he attempts to escape a month-long slump, but he made the biggest impact with his glove on defense. A vintage diving catch to rob Zach Neto of extra bases saved a run in the seventh inning.
Spencer Torkelson launched his 25th home run as part of a three-run second inning. For the homer, Torkelson hit a changeup from Angels right-hander Kyle Hendricks.
Hendricks allowed three runs in five innings.
Tarik Skubal stumbles
Facing Skubal, the Angels scored one run in the second inning and three runs in the fifth inning.
In the second, the Angels produced back-to-back hits with two outs: Luis Rengifo hit a single, and Logan O'Hoppe hit a double. Between those hits, Skubal had a wild pitch that allowed Rengifo to advance from first to second, which ultimately led to him scoring on O'Hoppe's double, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, the Angels tied the game, 3-3, on Gustavo Campero's two-run home run. Campero — who entered as a defensive replacement in the fourth inning — crushed Skubal's middle-middle fastball over the wall in left-center field. Before the homer, Skubal walked Christian Moore on six pitches.
After the homer, Neto — whom the Tigers passed on to select Jace Jung in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft — unloaded another middle-middle fastball from Skubal for a solo home run to left-center field. The Angels took a 4-3 lead on the back-to-back homers from Campero and Neto in the fifth.
Skubal exited after giving up a two-out single to Mike Trout with two outs in the fifth inning.
He gave up back-to-back home runs for the first time since July 25, 2021, against the Kansas City Royals on the road at Kauffman Stadium, when Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler did damage in the first inning.
His ERA climbed from 2.18 to 2.35 in his 23rd start.
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Troy Melton out of the bullpen
Right-handed reliever Troy Melton replaced Skubal.
Not only did Melton finish the fifth inning, but he also worked a total of 3⅓ innings. The 24-year-old rookie — a starter who recently moved to the bullpen — kept the Angels from scoring in the sixth and seventh innings, but not in the eighth.
In the eighth, Jo Adell hit a solo home run that increased the Angels' lead to 5-3.
But there were plenty of positive signs from Melton's second relief appearance, including his four-seam fastball generating five whiffs on 11 swings, his fastball.
Melton has a 3.63 ERA in four games (two starts).
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Matt Vierling blasts Detroit Tigers to 6-5 win over Los Angeles Angels
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