Tarik Skubal News: Fades late in loss

Skubal (11-4) allowed six runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out 12 without walking a batter over 6.2 innings to take the loss versus the Athletics on Monday.

Skubal didn't give up a run until the sixth inning, when he allowed one on a Jacob Wilson groundout. He stayed in to begin the seventh, and that proved to be a mistake, as Colby Thomas hit a solo shot and Shea Langeliers added a grand slam, although most of the damage to his ERA was mitigated by a Zach McKinstry error. This is just the fourth time all year that Skubal's given up multiple homers, though two of them have come in August. He's allowed 16 runs (11 earned) across 32.1 innings through five starts this month, which is an unusual stretch of middling performance for the dominant southpaw. On the bright side, he reached a double-digit total in strikeouts for the 10th time in 26 starts. Skubal still has a 2.28 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 212:25 K:BB through 166 innings this season. He'll look to bounce back this weekend in a road start versus the Royals.