DETROIT (AP) — Tarik Skubal had a season-high 12 strikeouts and allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings in what could have been his last home start for Detroit, helping the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
The subject of trade rumors as he approaches free agency, the two-time defending AL Cy Young winner pitched out of a seventh-inning jam before walking off the mound to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd of 40,638.
Click to Gallery
Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander, left, sits with Tarik Skubal, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Gleyber Torres, left, runs around Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) to score during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Brenan Hanifee throws against the Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Fans hold up K signs for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Skubal returned for the eighth inning with 89 pitches, but was replaced by Brenan Hanifee after retiring Carter Jensen. He left to another ovation, having given up four hits and two walks in his 61st win for the Tigers.
Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 12th save as the Tigers (50-54) improved to 28-16 since June 1. They are four wins away from reaching .500 for the first time since May 4.
Detroit scored twice in the first off Royals opener Beck Way (1-1), but Noah Cameron followed with seven shutout innings.
Way struggled in the first, allowing a pair of singles before hitting Dillon Dingler to load the bases. Riley Greene hit a long fly to left, but Isaac Collins reached above the fence to steal a grand slam. Colt Keith scored on the play, and Hao-Yu Lee made it 2-0 with an RBI single.
The Royals got two runners to start the third, and Tyler Tolbert bunted them to second and third. Skubal, though, struck out Carter Jensen and Lane Thomas to end the inning.
Skubal almost repeated the feat in the fourth, striking out Vinnie Pasquantino with one out and a runner on third, but Nick Loftin made it 2-1 with an RBI double to left.
A two-out double by Michael Massey gave the Royals on second and third with two out in the seventh, but Tolbert flew out to end the inning.
Salvador Perez, who needs one homer to break George Brett's franchise record of 317, couldn't make it happen on the 43rd anniversary of Brett's Pine Tar Game homer against the New York Yankees.
Tigers RHP Casey Mize (4-6. 2.79) was set to start opposite RHP Michael Wacha (5-7. 3.66) on Saturday.
Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander, left, sits with Tarik Skubal, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Gleyber Torres, left, runs around Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) to score during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Brenan Hanifee throws against the Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Fans hold up K signs for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
SpaceX’s mammoth Starship rocket blasted off Friday on another test flight stretching halfway around the world, this time releasing 20 of the most advanced Starlinks.
Towering 407 feet (124 meters), Starship soared from the company’s base at the southern tip of Texas. NASA monitored the space-skimming flight, a critical step toward using the Starship as a lunar lander for moon crews.
The hourlong journey ended with a splashdown so soft that the spacecraft remained afloat in the Indian Ocean as the SpaceX webcast drew to a close, drawing cheers from employees back at the launch site.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX had replaced six of the 33 engines on the first-stage booster after they failed to ignite last week, resulting in a last-second launch abort. The previous Starship flight in May also experienced engine trouble, which prevented the booster from making a controlled return.
This time, all of the engines fired at liftoff, but not enough of them lit back up for the booster's return, causing it to descend too fast and slam into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft continued soaring eastward, popping out the Starlinks one by one 124 miles (200 kilometers) up before reentering.
It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3. Like the previous demo, neither the booster nor spacecraft was meant to be saved, instead plunging into the sea.
The stainless steel, retro-looking spacecraft hovered upright over the Indian Ocean before lowering into the water, more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from where the flight began.
It was the best reentry yet, according to SpaceX, with the intact booster floating amid just a few flames. Previous flights ended with the spacecraft engulfed in flames and exploding at splashdown — or rupturing in midair.
“We're really pumped about this,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, calling it “lucky flight 13.”
The Starlinks accomplished all their jobs before reentering over the Indian Ocean.
After being ejected from the Starship’s Pez-like dispenser, the Starlinks managed to communicate via lasers with older Starlink models already in orbit. With more than 10,000 Starlinks currently providing internet, SpaceX boasts the world’s largest satellite constellation.
Six of the newly launched Starlinks carried cameras that photographed Starship’s heat shield at flight's end, beaming back amazingly crisp shots even as the spacecraft bobbed in the ocean. The heat shield was also equipped with sensors to measure the extreme pressure placed on the spacecraft during launch. Most of the heat shield’s thermal tiles were black, but some were deliberately painted white to simulate missing tiles, part of an experiment to test the shield’s robustness.
"We got all the heat shield data we needed and then some!" Musk said on X.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman offered congratulations. “Excited for what will be learned from this mission,” Isaacman noted on X.
SpaceX wants to make sure Starship’s heat shield can withstand the heat of entry before trying to return it to the Starbase launch pad near the Texas-Mexico border. The company already has used a pair of giant mechanical arms at the pad to capture a Starship booster. The company plans to do the same with the actual spacecraft, which is designed to be totally reusable.
NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts — three Americans and one Italian — can practice docking their capsule with it next year.
Starship is also the vehicle with which Musk intends to build a city on Mars. He's already booking tourist trips to Mars, as well as the moon.
The latest test flight was delayed first by the July 16 launch abort, then again on Thursday by thick clouds from Tropical Storm Bertha.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The sun rises behind SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A seagull takes flight as SpaceX's Starship rocket is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight in Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The sun rises behind SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A man jogs past SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight in Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
