Yankees’ Carlos Carrasco no match for Tigers’ Tarik Skubal

DETROIT — The scouting report on Tigers lefthander Tarik Skubal is the same as with any top pitcher.

Take advantage of the few opportunities given and always — always — try to get to him early before he settles in.

Maybe next time.

After back-to-back singles against Skubal to open Tuesday afternoon’s game, the Yankees saw the 2024 AL Cy Young Award winner retire 16 straight.

By that point Carlos Carrasco had an outing similar to the one by Milwaukee’s Nestor Cortes on Opening Day. The 1-2 punch of Skubal and the long ball sank the Yankees, 5-0, on a 34-degree afternoon at Comerica Park.

The Yankees (6-5), who have lost three straight since opening this six-game trip with two victories in Pittsburgh, totaled six hits, two of those in the first when Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice opened the game with hits against Skubal.

Skubal (1-2) went on to retire 16 in a row, en route to allowing four hits over six innings in which he struck out six.

Carrasco saw three of four batters go deep in the fourth inning as the Tigers (7-4), winners of seven of their last eight games, put the game away.

Carrasco (1-1) allowed four runs, six hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings.

After Goldschmidt, whose hot start continued with three more hits, and Rice singled in the first, Aaron Judge struck out swinging at a changeup. Jazz Chisholm Jr. bounced back to Skubal for a 1-3 putout that put two runners in scoring position. But Anthony Volpe, 4-for-12 with RISP entering the day, struck out looking at a 99-mph inside fastball to end the 17-pitch inning.

Carrasco struck out two in a 1-2-3, 13-pitch bottom half, but the Tigers got on the board in the second.

Spencer Torkelson led off with a double to right-center and Colt Keith lined a single to right, putting runners at the corners. Zach McKinstry’s sacrifice fly to right made it 1-0.

After Skubal made it 12 straight retired with a perfect top of the fourth, the Tigers’ three-homer inning followed in the bottom half. Torkelson led off by roping a first-pitch slider to left, his third homer making it 2-0. After Keith grounded out, McKinstry blasted a 2-and-2, 90-mph sinker to right for his first home run of the season. Dillon Dingler made it back-to-back shots, hammering a 1-and-1, 90-mph sinker to left, his first homer of 2025 making it 4-0.

Ryan Yarbrough replaced Carrasco with one out in the fifth and was promptly touched by the long ball, giving up a solo shot to right by Kerry Carpenter, his fourth homer.

Skubal’s retired-batters streak ended with one out in the sixth when Goldschmidt reached on an infield single. After Rice took a called third strike on a slider, Judge dumped a single to right, giving the Yankees their first runner in scoring position since the first. Chisholm popped to third to end the threat.