Skubal works 7 strong innings, Meadows makes homer-saving catch as the Tigers beat Mariners 6-2

SEATTLE (AP) — Tarik Skubal allowed two runs over seven innings, Parker Meadows made a homer-saving catch in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Wednesday night.

“It was a huge play, a game-changer,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “When the ball is hit to center, I feel settled because you feel like Parker is going to make (the catch).”

Skubal (13-4) was overpowering in stretches. The 27-year-old left-hander allowed three hits, struck out nine and continued to strengthen his resume in the AL Cy Young Award conversation.

But Meadows' catch will be the lasting image of the game as Seattle fell out of first place in the AL West, slipping a half-game behind Houston.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth and Seattle trailing 3-2, Cal Raleigh drove Jason Foley’s slider to deep center field. Meadows tracked the ball, timed his jump perfectly and was well above the top of the wall when the ball dropped into his glove.

“My job was to get to the wall and get to a spot, look up and find it,” Meadows said. “In that situation, it is pretty cool. You saw the emotions; I don’t do that very often.”

Raleigh homered in the fourth inning, with Randy Arozarena aboard, for the only blemish on Skubal’s otherwise terrific outing.

Skubal, who pitched collegiately a couple of miles away at Seattle University, retired the first 10 batters he faced and moved into a tie with three other pitchers for the most wins in baseball.

“It is always fun for me to throw here,” Skubal said. “I (have) to try and not make the game bigger than it already is. I enjoy it.”

Wenceel Pérez led off the game with a home run and Jake Rogers added a solo shot in the fourth inning. Matt Vierling and Gio Urshela had RBI singles in the ninth inning as the Tigers scored three times on the heels of Meadows' catch.

Seattle's George Kirby labored to get through five innings, throwing 97 pitches, 65 for strikes. Kirby (8-8) struck out seven and gave up three runs.

“It is one of those games where you got to keep it close,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We did everything right, they just made a play. It happens in the major leagues every once in a while. (Meadows) made an outstanding play.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Casey Mize (hamstring) will throw a couple innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, and his pitch efficiency will be monitored, according to Hinch. … OF Riley Greene (hamstring) is still not running bases and Hinch said a rehab assignment is “not imminent.” … OF Kerry Carpenter (lumbar spine stress fracture) went 1 for 4 in his rehab start with Triple-A Toledo, and Hinch said he came out “fine” from the game.

Mariners: OF Julio Rodriguez was doing outfield work with the rest of the team on Wednesday. Servais declined comment on the subject until he spoke with the trainer.

ROSTER MOVE

Mariners: Seattle recalled INF Ryan Bliss from Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday. Bliss returns to the Mariners after hitting .220 with seven RBIs in 31 games. In a corresponding move, OF Cade Marlowe was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

UP NEXT

Seattle will throw RHP Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.08 ERA) in the series finale against Detroit on Thursday. The Tigers have not made a decision on Thursday’s starter.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows watches the home fun ball hit by Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh during the fourth inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits a two-run home run on a pitch from Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal during the fourth inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Detroit Tigers' Matt Vierling dives into home to score on a double hit by Bligh Madris against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Detroit Tigers' Jake Rogers points to the sky after hitting a solo home run on a pitch from Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby during the fourth inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez throws against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows, left, reacts with right fielder Wenceel Pérez after catching a ball hit by Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh during the eighth inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows leaps and catches a ball hit by Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh during the eighth inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — United States President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs on American imports shocked governments and investors around the world, swiftly spurring both threats of retaliation and calls for negotiation as industries scrambled and global stocks tumbled.

China accused the U.S. of “bullying” and the European Union promised “robust” countermeasures, with French officials suggesting taxes to hit U.S. tech giants.

Yet the United Kingdom and Japan, among others, expressed hope for a deal with Trump and refrained from talk of retaliation against the world's biggest economy, fearing that slapping their own tariffs on American goods would only make things worse.

Trump said Wednesday that the import taxes, ranging from 10% to 49%, would reverse unfair treatment by American trading partners and draw factories and jobs back home.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Trump imposed a 34% levy on goods from China on top of an earlier 20% tariff, as well as a 20% tariff on the EU, 24% on Japan and 25% on South Korea.

China, a key exporter to the U.S. of everything from clothing to kitchenware, has already announced a raft of retaliatory measures expected to raise prices for U.S. consumers.

“There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars,” China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said. “It's clear to everyone that more and more countries are opposing the unilateral bullying actions of the U.S."

French President Emmanuel Macron met with representatives from key commercial sectors affected by the tariffs, like wines and spirits, cosmetics and aircraft, after urging businesses to suspend all investments in the U.S. “What would be the message of having major European players investing billions of euros in the American economy at a time when they’re hitting us?” Macron asked.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Trump's levies as a “major blow to the world economy” but held off announcing new countermeasures. She said the commission — which handles trade issues for the 27 EU member countries — was “always ready” to talk.

Analysts say there’s little to be gained from an all-out trade war, since higher tariffs can restrain growth and raise inflation.

“Europe will have to respond, but the paradox is that the EU would be better off doing nothing,” said Matteo Villa, a senior analyst at Italy’s Institute for International Political Studies.

“Trump seems to understand only the language of force, and this indicates the need for a strong and immediate response,” Villa said. “The hope, in Brussels, is that the response will be strong enough to induce Trump to negotiate and, soon, to backtrack.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Italian state TV on Thursday that she hoped for exactly that.

“We need to open an honest discussion on the matter with the Americans, with the goal — at least from my point of view— of removing tariffs, not multiplying them,’’ Meloni said.

Europe's strategy so far has been to limit retaliation to a few politically sensitive goods, like whiskey and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, in an attempt to push the U.S. to the negotiating table.

Economists say that Europe could broaden the trade war to the vast services sector by targeting Big Tech — a category more vulnerable to retaliation because the U.S. exports more than it imports.

The EU response could include a tax on U.S. digital giants such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, as French officials have recommended.

Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the EU "must show that we have strong muscles.” But he expressed no appetite for sparking an all-out trade war that could hobble the bloc's export-dependent economy.

“An agreement,” he said, "is best for prosperity in the U.S., for prosperity in Europe and for prosperity in the world.”

British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said his government would react with “cool and calm heads," telling business leaders in London that he hoped to strike a trade deal with the U.S. that would see the tariffs rescinded.

“Nobody wins in a trade war, that is not in our national interest,” Starmer said.

Japan, the biggest foreign investor in the U.S. and its closest ally in Asia, plans to assess the impact of the tariffs, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said, displaying a more conciliatory approach.

The round of tariffs jolted financial markets, with the U.S. Standard & Poors 500 off 3.7% in afternoon trading.

The STOXX Europe 600 index fell 2.7% and a 2.8% drop in Tokyo’s benchmark led losses in Asia. Oil prices sank more than $2 a barrel. Analysts fished for superlatives to convey the disruption to the global trading order as Trump's announcement overturned decades of efforts to lower tariffs through free trade agreements and negotiations.

“The magnitude of the rollout — both in scale and speed — wasn’t just aggressive; it was a full-throttle macro disruption,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said.

With an average tariff of 25%-30%, the highest since the early 20th century, the U.S. has initiated a “radical policy reordering,”said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

The head of the World Trade Organization warned that U.S. protectionist measures will likely cause global trade volumes to drop by about 1% this year.

“I’m deeply concerned about this decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that lead to further declines in trade,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Iweala-Okonjo.

The tariffs are not paid by the foreign countries they target, but by the U.S.-based companies that buy the goods to sell to Americans.

Now companies must decide whether to absorb the new taxes or pass them on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

The makers of Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for instance, say the new tariffs mean U.S. consumers will pay more for their crumbly pasta topping.

“Americans continued to choose us even when the price went up” after an earlier round of Trump tariffs in 2019, said Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigian Reggiano Consortium. “Putting tariffs on a product like ours, only increases the price for American consumers, without protecting local producers."

The Consumer Brands Association, which represents big food companies like Coca-Cola and General Mills as well as consumer product makers like Procter & Gamble, warned that although its businesses make most of their goods in the U.S., they now face tariffs on critical ingredients — like wood pulp for toilet paper or cinnamon — that must be imported because of domestic scarcity.

“We encourage President Trump and his trade advisors to fine-tune their approach and exempt key ingredients and inputs in order to protect manufacturing jobs and prevent unnecessary inflation at the grocery store,” said Tom Madrecki, the association’s vice-president of supply chain resiliency.

A eye-popping 29% tariff imposed on Norfolk Island came as a shock to the remote South Pacific outpost's 2,000 inhabitants, particularly as its governing nation, Australia, was hit with a far lower tariff of 10%.

“To my knowledge, we do not export anything to the United States,” Norfolk Island Administrator George Plant, the Australian government’s representative on the island, said Thursday. “We’re scratching our heads here.”

Vladimir Putin’s Russia, meanwhile, was left off Trump’s list.

AP journalists around the world contributed to this story.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin speaks during a joint press conference with EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath, not pictured, following their meeting at Government Buildings, over the 20% tariff on imports from the EU announced by US President Donald Trump, which will significantly impact Ireland, in Dublin, Thursday April 3, 2025. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath speaks during a joint press conference with Taoiseach Micheal Martin, not pictured, following their meeting at Government Buildings, over the 20% tariff on imports from the EU announced by US President Donald Trump, which will significantly impact Ireland, in Dublin, Thursday April 3, 2025. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Behind a television monitor showing U.S. President Donald Trump, the display board with the Dax curve shows falling share prices, in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday April 3, 2025, after the tariff package announced by U.S. President Trump has pushed share prices sharply into negative territory. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

People walk past an electronic stock board showing the day's early loss of Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Tokyo.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a screen as currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Cranes and shipping containers are seen at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Employee Jon Vazquez-DeAnda cuts keys for a customer at employee-owned Devon Hardware, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

This photo shows vehicles bound for foreign countries at a logistics center in Kawasaki near Tokyo, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Michi Ono/Kyodo News via AP)

President Donald Trump departs after signing an executive order at an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)