Something old, new lead Tigers in DH sweep

DETROIT — Moments after beating the Twins in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, Matthew Boyd joked about what was in store for Minnesota.
“They got the old F-150 in the first game,” Boyd said. “Now they’re getting the Ferrari.”
Minutes later, Tarik Skubal came out for his Comerica Park debut,

DETROIT — Moments after beating the Twins in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, Matthew Boyd joked about what was in store for Minnesota.

“They got the old F-150 in the first game,” Boyd said. “Now they’re getting the Ferrari.”

Minutes later, Tarik Skubal came out for his Comerica Park debut, throwing 98 mph fastballs and buckling breaking balls. The Tigers’ No. 5 prospect tossed five solid innings with help from a Victor Reyes home run robbery before Miguel Cabrera’s tiebreaking two-run homer sent Skubal to his first Major League win and Detroit to a doubleheader sweep of the Twins with a 4-2 win.

• Box score

The Tigers have won four in a row to climb within a game of .500. They also clinched their third consecutive series victory, with a chance to go for a three-game sweep Sunday behind top pitching prospect Casey Mize.

Aside from a Marwin Gonzalez sacrifice fly and a Nelson Cruz solo homer, Skubal (1-1) dazzled despite just two strikeouts. He had help from Reyes, who covered 87 feet to the fence in left-center to bring back Miguel Sanó’s drive two batters after Cruz’s homer.

The catch kept the game at 2-2 and bought time for the Tigers to take their hacks at the Twins’ bullpen. Cabrera, whose third-inning single set up Jeimer Candelario’s two-run homer off of Trevor May to open Detroit’s scoring, followed Jonathan Schoop’s fifth-inning walk with an opposite-field loft into the right-field seats off of Tyler Duffey.

Another highlight grab from Reyes, this time a diving catch in shallow center on a Max Kepler blooper, denied Cruz a chance to step to the plate against Jose Cisnero as the potential tying run in the sixth. Gregory Soto allowed a leadoff single to Cruz but thwarted the seventh-inning threat for his first Major League save.