Tarik Skubal threw six solid innings against his former team, Freddie Freeman hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Friday night.
Skubal allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven. He was welcomed back with mostly cheers, and a smattering of boos, from fans in his first game as a visitor at Comerica Park since being traded this month.
In a crowd that had mixed emotions about Skubal’s return, a couple young fans had fitting outfits sporting white Tigers jerseys with 29 and Skubal on the back — and a blue Dodgers hat.
Evan Phillips (2-2), Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia combined for three innings of scoreless relief and Tanner Scott pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.
Jacob Waguespack (1-2) gave up one run on two hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Skubal allowed a leadoff double to Gleyber Torres and the two-time Cy Young Award winner went on to retire the next 12 batters, including striking out the side in the third inning.
Eduardo Valencia led off the fifth with a double against Skubal and Max Clark followed with a two-out triple in the inning to break a scoreless tie.
The Dodgers tied it in the next inning on Miguel Rojas’ RBI single off left-handed reliever Drew Sommers and they went ahead in the eighth. Freeman hit a two-out single to center that scored Teoscar Hernández for a 2-1 lead.
REDS 10, CUBS 8
CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Stephenson hit a three-run homer to highlight a five-run sixth inning, Jose Trevino, TJ Friedl and Sal Stewart also went deep and Cincinnati scored nine unanswered runs in a win over Chicago.
Down 3-0 after three innings, the Reds cut their deficit to 3-2 in the fifth before moving ahead in the sixth when Trevino tied it with a solo homer, Stewarr added an RBI single and Stephenson launched a 399-foot homer to center to make it 7-3.
Usually reliable Cubs reliever Trent Thornton (5-5) took the loss, giving up five runs on four hits and a walk while getting just two outs.
Stewart had his 29th homer to go with a single, a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored. Five Cincinnatti players had a multi-hit game, including shortstop Elly De La Cruz, who had three hits, two RBIs and scored a run.
The loss extended a tough stretch for the Cubs’ bullpen, which blew two saves on the team’s recent West Coast trip.
ROYALS 3, GUARDIANS 0
CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Wacha dominated Cleveland’s lineup by allowing just four singles over eight innings as Kansas City stayed scorching hot with a win to end the Guardians’ winning streak at seven games.
Wacha (8-8) was in control from his first pitch to his 103rd and cooled off the Guardians, who just returned from a 6-0 trip to Colorado and Los Angeles.
Rookie Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the Royals, who have won 11 of 12 and are 23-16 since the All-Star break.
Wacha, who leads the AL with 18 quality starts, walked none and struck out a season-high 10. The Guardians only got one runner past second base against the right-hander. Wacha improved to 6-1 against AL Central teams in 2026.
Steven Cruz loaded the bases in the ninth on two singles and a hit batter before retiring Angel Genao on a comebacker for his sixth save.
NATIONALS 9, MARLINS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Brady House hit a three-run homer, Jackson Kent threw seven innings of one-run ball to pick up his first major league win, and Washington beat Miami.
Washington scored five runs in the third after Miami starter Eury Pérez walked the first three batters on just 14 pitches. The Nationals scored two on a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead and House hit his 10th homer of the season 445 feet.
The Nationals added four runs in the seventh. Harry Ford hit his third home run of the season over the wall in left-center field for a 6-1 lead. Dylan Crews hit a double into the left-field corner to score two more and reach base for the eighth consecutive game.
Daylen Lile tripled over the center fielder to score another run, his sixth triple of the season.
Washington snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with the Marlins. The Nationals had scored just 15 total runs over the last seven games against Miami.
BLUE JAYS 8, MARINERS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Dylan Cease struck out eight in six innings, George Springer was 4 for 4 with a home run, and Toronto beat Seattle.
Cease (9-5), who gave up four hits, one run and a walk, now has 217 strikeouts to lead the AL. The only pitcher in the majors with more is Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski with 222.
Cease is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA in his past 10 starts, including two wins over the Mariners.
Springer, who scored three runs, singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, hit his 14th homer in the fifth and singled in the seventh. Springer hit a memorable homer the last time Toronto hosted Seattle, a three-run shot to put the Blue Jays ahead in Game 7 of the 2025 ALCS.
Kazuma Okamoto and Nathan Lukes added homers for the Blue Jays.
ASTROS 3, METS 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Hunter Brown struck out 10 and allowed a run over 6 2/3 innings, Daulton Varsho had a two-run single in a three-run sixth inning and Houston beat New York.
Brown (4-3) threw 102 pitches and allowed five hits and a walk, becoming the first Astros starter since Aug. 10 to complete six innings.
Bryan Abreu struck out two and retired all four batters he faced. Josh Hader struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save in 20 opportunities.
Brown struck out six and didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings, but Francisco Lindor led off the fourth with a single then scored from first on Carson Benge’s one-out double.
Christian Scott (4-4) allowed only a Jose Altuve single in 5 1/3 innings, but he left after loading the bases on three walks. Varsho greeted Nate Lavender with a two-run single and Yainer Diaz singled in another run.
BRAVES 6, ROCKIES 4
ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Harris II drove in three runs on two hits, including a homer, Ronald Acuña Jr. had three hits and three runs, and Atlanta beat Colorado for its fifth straight win.
Right-hander Grant Holmes (9-5) allowed three runs on eight hits — all singles — in five innings for Atlanta. Before the game, the Braves announced right-handers Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep would have season-ending elbow surgeries.
Rockies right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8) gave up six runs on 10 hits in four-plus innings. Sugano left the game after gave up three hits, including a two-run homer by Harris, to open the fifth.
Acuña, who was rested in the Braves’ 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, had three hits and a walk as the cleanup hitter for the first time this season.
RAYS 9, PADRES 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Diaz and Cedric Mullins each homered and drove in two runs and AL-leading Tampa Bay scored five runs in the fourth inning on the way to a victory over San Diego.
Shane McClanahan (10-6) allowed three hits and four runs, three earned, with two walks and four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. The 29-year-old left-hander improved to 8-1 at home.
Chandler Simpson had two hits, two stolen bases and scored twice as the Rays (80-54) won for the fourth time in five games and became the first team in the American League to reach 80 wins.
Casey Mize (5-8) allowed seven runs, two earned, on six hits in five innings. Jackson Merrill homered for San Diego, which is 8-2 in its last 10 games.
BREWERS 6, RANGERS 1
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Logan Henderson gave up one hit over seven innings and Jake Bauers reached base five times and scored twice in his return to the lineup as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Texas Rangers 6-1 on Friday night.
Henderson (9-2), who has allowed three runs or less in each of his first 19 career starts, including 14 this season, gave up one run, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter in matching the longest outing of his career, on Aug. 16 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Bauers, who missed three consecutive games with shin splints, went 2 for 2 with three walks, two runs scored and a stolen base.
The Brewers, who have the best record in the majors, moved a season-high eight games ahead of the Chicago Cubs for the top spot in the NL Central. Texas has lost 13 of its last 16 games on the road.
The Brewers jumped on Rangers starter Cody Bradford (0-3) in the first. Brice Turang had a bunt single and took second on a throwing error. Turang tagged on Jackson Chourio’s fly out and scored on William Contreras’ groundout. Christian Yelich’s run-scoring double gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.
YANKEES 1, RED SOX 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered, left fielder Cody Bellinger threw out the potential tying run at home plate to end the seventh inning and New York edged Boston in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.
Cam Schlittler (12-6) shut down his hometown team again, striking out eight in 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball. The right-hander from Walpole, Massachusetts overcame five walks, which matched a career high, as the Red Sox went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 overall.
They also cost themselves with a terrible baserunning blunder by Ceddanne Rafaela, who got doubled off first as the trail runner when Wilyer Abreu lined out to center field — ending the fifth with cleanup batter Willson Contreras on deck.
New York remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East and moved three ahead of Boston in the race for the top American League wild-card and home-field advantage throughout a potential best-of-three playoff series between the longtime rivals.
CARDINALS 4, PIRATES 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Quinn Mathews allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings for his first major league win and Jimmy Crooks hit a two-run homer to lead St. Louis to a victory over Pittsburgh.
Mathews (1-2) threw 102 pitches in the longest of his four starts. He struck out seven for the second time and walked one in his first outing at home.
Ryan Fernandez followed Mathews with two scoreless innings. Fernandez left after a two-out walk to Brian Reynolds in the eighth and Caleb Ferguson got the final out when Reynolds was hit on the foot on a single through the infield by Oneil Cruz. Ryne Stanek struck out two in the ninth for his second save.
Nolan Gorman had a one-out double off Jacob Jones (2-6) in the third and Crooks followed with his fifth home run of the season for a 2-0 lead.
Jordan Walker and José Fermín singled leading off the fourth, and Nathan Church hit a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage.
Jared Triolo had two of Pittsburgh’s six hits and drove in a run with a two-out single in the fifth.
WHITE SOX 7, TWINS 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Colson Montgomery hit his 28th homer and Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs to help AL Central-leading Chicago beat Minnesota.
Chicago took advantage of shaky pitching early by the Twins. Montgomery’s three-run homer off starter Dean Kremer (2-5) in the first inning put the White Sox up 4-0.
The Twins climbed back with first-inning homers by Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens. Lee also singled in the second to tie it at 4 before Chicago regained the lead on Benintendi’s double in the third.
Both starting pitchers went just four innings. Chicago right-hander Luis Castillo allowed four runs on eight hits, while Kremer gave up six runs — five earned — in his outing.
Reliever Grant Taylor (7-2) pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings for Chicago for the victory. Bryan Hudson pitched the ninth for his sixth save.
_____