Javier Báez has 5 RBIs, Tigers knock out 17 hits in 13
PHOENIX (AP) — Javier Báez broke out of a season-long slump with five RBIs, Tarik Skubal pitched six dominant innings and the Detroit Tigers pounded the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-0 on Friday night.
Coming off consecutive shutouts against Florida, the Tigers roughed up Rhyne Nelson (2-3) with three runs in the third inning and added six more in the fifth while chasing the Arizona right-hander. Detroit had 11 runs by the fifth inning and finished with a season-high 17 hits — seven for extra bases, but no homers.
“We’ve obviously been waiting and hoping for a night like that and it came together at a good time for us,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve done this before and this is a good version of us, but one good at-bat after another, it’s pretty awesome to see. It’s contagious.”
Hinch insisted he was going to keep sending Báez out despite the shortstop’s meager .167 batting average. Báez rewarded him with a 3-for-4 night that included a pair of two-run doubles and a run-scoring single.