Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was cruising to what looked like another quality start and victory against the Athletics on Monday night before encountering some turbulence in the seventh inning. Holding onto a 3-2 lead, the fireballing lefty allowed the home team to load the bases without an out. While this would have been reason enough for a manager to relieve any other pitcher, Skubal has earned the right to work out of such jams. And it looked like he would after striking out two batters to set up a battle with Shea Langeliers.
Langeliers, one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball since the All-Star break, worked the count to 2-1 and got a fastball to his liking. No one in the ballpark knew that his swing would result in a grand slam sooner than Skubal.
