BOSTON (AP) — Tarik Skubal struck out a season-high 10 over six innings of one-run ball, Kerry Carpenter hit a solo homer and the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Saturday, ending their nine-game road losing streak.
It was the Tigers’ longest winless road stretch since a 10-gamer in 2010. Rookie Kevin McGonigle had an RBI single and two hits.
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Detroit Tigers' Wenceel Pérez (46) scores on a sacrifice fly by Jake Rogers as Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, left, waits for the ball in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Boston Red Sox's Brayan Bello delivers a pitch to a Detroit Tigers batter in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter (30) celebrates after his home run as he arrives at home plate in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter (30) watches his home run in front of Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, left, in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Detroit Tigers' Tyler Holton delivers a pitch to a Boston Red Sox batter in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
The 29-year-old Skubal (3-2) held the Red Sox to four hits and had the 18th double-digit strikeout game of his career, with 10 coming last season.
Tyler Holton worked two scoreless innings and Kenley Jansen got the final three outs for his fifth save, the 481st of his career.
Boston starter Brayan Bello (1-2) was roughed up for four runs in four innings. The Red Sox have lost all 12 games this season when their starter doesn’t go at least six innings and won all eight when they do.
With the Tigers leading 1-0, Carpenter sparked a three-run fourth by hitting Bello’s changeup into Detroit’s bullpen. Jake Rogers added a sacrifice fly and McGonigle had his run-scoring single.
In a victory over Miami in his previous start on Sunday, Skubal had a no-hit bid broken up with two outs in the sixth inning.
The AL’s back-to-back Cy Young Award winner took a no-hitter into the fifth Saturday before Wilyer Abreu had a leadoff single up-the-middle. The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs but managed only a run on Connor Wong’s double-play grounder.
Coming off a 1-0 walk-off win in the series opener Friday, Boston’s bats were quiet again after collecting just four hits the previous night.
With rain in the forecast, the starting time Sunday was moved back from 1:35 p.m. to 4:35 p.m. Tigers LHP Framber Valdez (1-1, 3.75 ERA) was slated to face Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet (2-2, 7.58), coming off the worst start in club history.
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Detroit Tigers' Wenceel Pérez (46) scores on a sacrifice fly by Jake Rogers as Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, left, waits for the ball in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Boston Red Sox's Brayan Bello delivers a pitch to a Detroit Tigers batter in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter (30) celebrates after his home run as he arrives at home plate in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter (30) watches his home run in front of Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, left, in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Detroit Tigers' Tyler Holton delivers a pitch to a Boston Red Sox batter in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall scored, and Frederik Andersen came through with a big third-period performance in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 2-0 on Saturday to open their first-round playoff series.
Carolina can take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series on Monday night in Raleigh.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour had gone with Andersen’s veteran experience as the starter over Brandon Bussi, and it paid off for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
“We have good options and both guys have played well and we have confidence in both guys,” Brind'Amour said. “But clearly experience I think won out, and he looked like he knew what he was doing.”
Andersen finished with 22 saves, including back-to-back stops on a third-period power play that had Ottawa buzzing with quality chances in a 1-0 game. One of those was initially ruled a tying goal on Drake Batherson's rebound attempt at the top of the crease, only for a replay review to overturn the call in showing Andersen had gloved a loose puck as it went airborne near the post and kept it from fully crossing the goal line.
Moments later, he had another when Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk had position at the top of the crease, only for Andersen to fall backward and make the stop with his legs in a sequence that had Hurricanes fans roaring “Freddie! Freddie!”
“It's pretty mind-blowing how loud it gets and how fun it is to play here,” Andersen said.
By the final moments, Andersen and the Hurricanes were holding up against Ottawa spending most of the last 2 1/2 minutes with a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling Linus Ullmark for the extra attacker with the Senators on the power play.
It was a physical game with hard hits, little open space and chippiness throughout. It started with captains Tkachuk and Jordan Staal of Carolina locking up in an immediate fight, jawing in the moments before the opening faceoff before throwing punches, crashing into the ice and then heading to the box just 3 seconds into the game.
“We didn’t find a way to generate enough, but they’re a team also that does that to you as well,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “And I didn’t think we gave up too many grade-As (scoring chances). They were on their toes. They’ve got a real good team, they didn’t finish first for nothing.”
Stankoven got Carolina on the board early in the second period when he took a tap feed from Jackson Blake as he skated into the slot to slip the puck under Ullmark's left pad. That line struck again in the third, with Blake poking a puck loose after an Ullmark stop and sending into the crease — where Stankoven skated in to clean it up and sent the puck off Hall's skate for the 2-0 lead.
The Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the eighth straight year, reaching the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three years and thrice in this current run that began in 2019. The Senators are in the playoffs for the second straight year after a seven-year postseason drought since a seven-game loss in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.
Ullmark finished with 27 saves for Ottawa, which had surged since late January to secure the second wild-card spot in the East.
The Senators also had top-pair defenseman Artem Zub exit early with an undisclosed injury after taking two second-period shifts; Green didn't have an update when he spoke with reporters afterward and said the team would know more Sunday.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk, right, protests a call with an official during the second period of an Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) looks past toward the net as Carolina Hurricanes' Logan Stankoven (22) celebrates his goal during the second period of an Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) blocks a shot by Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk (7) with Hurricanes' Logan Stankoven (22) nearby during the second period of an Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes celebrate a goal by Logan Stankoven (22) during the second period of an Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
