ST. LOUIS — Detroit Tigers rookie Tarik Skubal recorded strikeouts for his first seven outs.
He finished Wednesday's outing with 10 punchouts, pushing his season total to 144. When he struck out Harrison Bader in the fifth inning, the 24-year-old put himself two away from second place among all Tigers rookies — held by Spencer Turnbull with 146 in 2019 — and 12 away from tying Les Cain's 156 in 1970 for No. 1.
Had it not been for St. Louis Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt hitting a pair of solo home runs, Skubal would have lined the Tigers up for a victory and two-game series sweep at Busch Stadium.