KANSAS CITY, MO – Saturday, May 9, marked five games since the Detroit Tigers placed reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal on the injured list.
They’ve lost all five games.
Skubal would’ve started for the Tigers on Saturday in the second of three games against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, but he continues to recover from surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow.
The Tigers lost, 5-1, in their 12th defeat in their past 19 games.
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Kansas City Royals celebrate after shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) hits an in park home run during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
The Tigers (18-22) will try to avoid a sweep from the Royals (19-21) on Sunday (7:20 p.m., Peacock) in a bullpen-only game without left-hander Framber Valdez, who will miss his scheduled start while serving a suspension.
In Saturday’s game, the Tigers turned to “pitching chaos” in Skubal’s absence.
The unorthodox opener-bulk reliever strategy made famous in their magical run to the 2024 postseason failed against the Royals, as right-handed reliever Burch Smith surrendered two runs as the opener on an inside-the-park home run in the first inning.
Right-hander Ty Madden served as the bulk reliever for the second time since being called up from Triple-A Toledo to replace Skubal, coming out of the bullpen in the third inning.
Madden took down six innings.
But he allowed three runs on a three-run home run with two outs in the fourth inning.
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Meanwhile, the Tigers were shut down by three pitchers from the Royals: right-hander Michael Wacha for seven innings, left-handed reliever Matt Strahm in the eighth inning and right-handed reliever Steven Cruz in the ninth inning.
Wacha set the tone.
He completed seven scoreless innings on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts, throwing 89 pitches.
The only two hits off Wacha came from Kerry Carpenter’s infield single with two outs in the second inning and Spencer Torkelson’s double with one out in the fifth inning.
Detroit Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter (30) at bat during the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
The Tigers had their best scoring opportunity with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, thanks to Torkelson’s double, Zach McKinstry’s walk and Kevin McGonigle’s hit-by-pitch.
The Royals, though, escaped the jam when Matt Vierling chased Wacha’s changeup below the strike zone for an inning-ending groundout.
A bad swing decision led to a bad result.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Burch Smith (65) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
An early deficit
Everything fell apart for the Tigers in the first inning, as the Royals took advantage of their pitching chaos strategy with back-to-back extra-base hits for a 2-0 lead.
It began with a leadoff double from Maikel Garcia.
After that, Bobby Witt Jr. raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
On that play, Witt pushed Smith’s third consecutive fastball down the third-base line and into the right-field corner. The ball deflected off the side wall in foul territory and rolled to the wall in fair territory after a misplay from right fielder Kerry Carpenter. As Carpenter chased after the ball, Witt never stopped running around the bases and scored with a head-first slide into home plate.
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This time, Carpenter exited the game before taking the field in the third inning with left shoulder soreness – the result of slamming his shoulder into the wall on the misplay.
The Royals didn’t score again until two outs in the fourth inning, when Michael Massey – a left-handed hitter – blasted Madden’s cutter for a three-run home run.
The big swing extended the Royals’ lead to 5-0.
Entering Saturday’s game, Madden had allowed left-handed hitters to produce a .340 batting average with a .963 OPS across 58 plate appearances in the 2026 season, spanning both the Triple-A and MLB levels.
The 26-year-old was responsible for three runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings against the Royals, throwing 87 pitches.
Madden owns a 2.45 ERA over 11 innings in two appearances as a bulk reliever in Skubal’s absence.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers’ pitching chaos fails vs Royals as losing streak grows
