Aggressive Detroit Tigers, dominant Tarik Skubal overwhelm Tampa Bay Rays in 7-1 win

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers played like the Tampa Bay Rays to beat the Tampa Bay Rays.

Veteran shortstop Javier Báez led the way with hard hits, aggressive base running and sharp defense. For years, the Rays have feasted on that recipe to down opposing teams, but in Monday's opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field, it was the Tigers chowing down en route to a 7-1 win.

"Good, aggressive baseball," said veteran outfielder Mark Canha, who sparked the seven-run attack with a solo home run. "We ran the heck out of the bases. Javy was all over the basepaths and causing havoc. It's just a fun brand of baseball. That's what we want our identity to be."

Left-hander Tarik Skubal, who commands a 1.82 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 29⅔ innings, received more than enough run support as he dominated for six scoreless innings on 86 pitches, striking out nine without a walk.

It was his best of five starts this season.

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The Tigers (13-10) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Canha launched a solo home run to left field off right-hander Zack Littell.

"It's nice to get Skub a run," Canha said.

After that, the Tigers played their fun brand of baseball.

Báez ripped a 93 mph sinker — 109.5 mph exit velocity — to center for an RBI single with two outs in the second inning. He took second base on an unsuccessful throw home from the center fielder, and soon after that, he raced home from second base on a throwing error by shortstop José Caballero.

Those plays put the Tigers ahead, 3-0.

Báez took similar action in the fifth inning when he ripped a middle-down 86.4 mph slider — featuring a 109.6 mph exit velocity — for a single to center. He advanced to second base on a single, then he scored from second base on another throwing error by Caballero. Canha, the next batter, delivered an RBI single.

Those plays extended the lead to 5-0.

Jake Rogers put pressure on the Rays' defense with a single in the second inning, and Riley Greene did the same in the fifth inning. The hits from Rogers and Greene led to Caballero's throwing errors and Báez's runs.

Here's a positive sign: Báez has notched five of his six hardest hits this season across the past five days. The five exit velocities: a 109.6 mph single Monday, a 109.5 mph single Monday, a 109.1 mph double Thursday, a 108.8 mph double Thursday and a 108.4 mph single Sunday.

Báez produced his hardest hit, a 110.4 mph exit velocity, on a single in the first weekend of the season.

"I see him using the entire field," manager A.J. Hinch said. "The entire field for him can be the middle. He's redirecting the ball back up, hitting the ball hard, going up with a plan and executing the plan. It's good to see. We're a different offense whenever the bottom of the order — he and Jake both, Parker hitting the homer — getting some production out of the bottom of the order. Our offense today was pretty complete effort, given that everybody contributed."

Skubal diving

Skubal, meanwhile, absolutely dominated.

He generated 13 whiffs on 42 swings with five two-seam fastballs, two four-seam fastballs, three changeups and three sliders. The lefty faced a lineup full of right-handed hitters, utilizing changeups and sliders away to set up strikeouts on the inside part of the plate with two-seamers and four-seamers.

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He threw more two-seamers than four-seamers for the second start in a row.

"It's more pitch execution," Skubal said. "I've been able to put it where I want a lot, so whether that be the four- or the two-seamer, if I can relentlessly pound guys up and in, it's hard to hit. ... Once you have to start cheating this way, it opens up the outside half of the plate. That's when I have success."

The nine strikeouts: Harold Ramírez (swinging, 96.4 mph sinker) in the first inning, Randy Arozarena (called, 96.1 mph sinker), Isaac Paredes (swinging, 86.3 mph changeup) and Caballero (swinging, 97.5 mph sinker) in the second, Jose Siri (called, 97.9 mph sinker) in the third, Curtis Mead (swinging, 97.5 mph sinker) and Siri (swinging, 98.6 mph sinker) in the fifth and, finally, René Pinto (called, 96.9 mph sinker) and Amed Rosario (swinging, 86.5 mph slider) in the sixth.

Skubal averaged 96.8 mph with his fastball.

He threw his fastest pitch of the season — a 99.7 mph fastball — for a ball to Siri before striking him out in the third inning.

"When he's dominant in the strike zone and gets them in swing mode," Hinch said, "and you give him the lead, it gives him a leash to pitch aggressively to the strike zone. He got a ton of strikes. He missed a ton of bats. This is a team that he wanted to attack. The comfortable lead and a couple of good defensive plays behind him gave him some freedom to pitch the way he does, and he was in total command."

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Skubal also received help from his defense.

Rogers, who called a superb game behind the plate and collected two hits, threw out Rosario trying to steal second base to end the first inning. In the fifth, Báez fielded a ball off his back foot on a difficult hop and threw a laser to first base to take an infield single away from Caballero.

Skubal shouted in excitement.

Báez just smiled.

"I mean, that's why he has a gold patch on his glove," Skubal said. "I love having him there at shortstop... and Parker (Meadows) in center field. Parker is incredible, too. I see a gold patch coming his way."

Meadows finds the beach

Meadows has been slow-to-start at the plate all season, hitting .093.

He crushed a much-needed home run in the sixth inning, giving a 427-foot ride to a middle-middle slider from Littell. His solo homer put the Tigers ahead, 6-0, and completed the six-run beatdown of Littell.

Meadows has two homers in 21 games.

The Tigers pushed their lead to 7-0 in the seventh inning with Kerry Carpenter's RBI double off right-handed reliever Chris Devenski. He is riding an eight-game hitting streak and a seven-game RBI streak.

In the eighth, the Rays scored their only run on Caballero's solo home run off right-handed reliever Shelby Miller.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers roast Rays, 7-1, behind Tarik Skubal, Javier Báez