Overview
- Detroit tabbed left-hander Tarik Skubal for the series opener after he was cleared to pitch following brief forearm discomfort in his last start.
- Skubal enters at 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA and five quality starts, including 10 strikeouts over six innings against Boston on April 18.
- Boston counters with 23-year-old lefty Payton Tolle, who followed an 11-strikeout debut with a three-run, 4 2/3–inning outing that included four walks.
- Tolle said he did not feel like himself after that second start, and interim manager Chad Tracy noted a late drop in his fastball velocity.
- Detroit has won all five home series and just took two of three from Texas, while Boston has lost four of five, stranding 13 in a 10-inning loss to Houston.