Any hopes the Detroit Tigers had of building momentum after snapping their six-game losing streak on Sunday night were quickly dashed by Paul Skenes.
The 23-year-old All-Star pitched six shutout innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Tigers 3-0 on Monday night at PNC Park.
The Tigers (60-41) have scored just three runs in four games since the All-Star break and have now been shut out twice. They'll face the Pirates (40-61) two more times this week.
Skenes, who started the All-Star Game for the National League and is a leading contender for the NL Cy Young Award, handled the Tigers' lineup with relative ease. Detroit's best scoring opportunity came in the third inning when Parker Meadows led off with a double and Matt Vierling followed with an infield single. But Skenes retired three straight batters to escape the threat.
He's really good," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in Pittsburgh after the game. "I felt like we put up some tough at-bats as the game went on. He got into the game pretty easily, and then we had a couple things going where we had to find a way to scratch across a bleeder or a bullet or a big hit to dent what he's doing. He's going to get his punchouts. He's really good at using his elite stuff, and he's a hard measuring stick.
Tigers starter Jack Flaherty continued his Jekyll-and-Hyde season, striking out six but issuing three costly walks in a start that lasted just three innings.
They dumped a few hits in there, hit a couple balls well, some untimely walks, and you look up and he's closing in on 80 pitches," Hinch said. "I was glad he held it to three runs because it felt like it could've been worse. Then our pen came in and kept it close, to where they had to use a couple of their guys to finish us off.
One positive sign for the Tigers: the bullpen seems to be stabilizing after a difficult period leading into the break. Dietrich Enns, Chase Lee, and Tommy Kahnle combined for five scoreless innings in relief.
Kahnle entered July with a 1.77 ERA but had allowed 14 runs in 3 1/3 innings before Monday's scoreless outing.
That was a positive outing for Tommy," Hinch said. "I was hoping to get a lower-leverage situation where he could come in and work on a few things, have a little bit of breathing room. Ideally, we were going to be up 5-0 or 6-0. But I think just him walking off the field with a positive feeling is a step in the right direction.
BOX SCORE
Next up : The Tigers and Pirates meet again on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m.
Tigers' right-hander Casey Mize (9-3, 3.15 ERA) will face Pirates' right-hander Mitch Keller (3-10, 3.48).
Mize is making his first appearance since a relief outing in the All-Star game on July 15.
Keller has spent his entire career with the Pirates since being drafted out of high school in the second round in 2014.
Keller has a 2.32 ERA over his last seven starts (42 2/3 innings).
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