Tigers' RISP failures, rare Tarik Skubal mistake crush Opening Day vibes

The Detroit Tigers will be back at it on Friday with an opportunity to rebound, but Thursday night's Opening Day loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers really took the wind out of the fanbase's sails after all of the offseason anticipation.

It's not for any other reason than the loss featuring self-inflicted mistakes. And a rare one came from reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in the bottom of the fifth inning.

With the Tigers leading 2-1 with two outs, Skubal walked Mookie Betts on four pitches to bring Teoscar Hernandez to the plate. Betts finished the night 1-for-3 with a walk (he singled off Skubal), but he had just missed a ton of time with a mysterious illness that caused him to lose 20 pounds.

Skubal, a power pitcher in every sense of the word, should have been able to overwhelm the former MVP given the circumstances. Between that free at-bat for Betts and a single given up to No. 9 hitter Andy Pages, it put Skubal in a tough position.

Before anybody could blink, Hernandez took Skubal deep to make it a 4-2 game. The three-run homer wasn't the game winner (Shohei Ohtani's late blast ended up taking the honors), but it greatly shifted the momentum and further put Detroit's offense in a poor spot.

Although the Tigers racked up nine hits and six walks in the 5-4 loss, they went an unthinkable 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. They left 11 runners on base, which pales in comparison to the Dodgers, who went just 1-for-2 with RISP and left three runners on base. Had the Tigers went, say, a conservative 2-for-15, they probably win the game.

But that was a worry for this team coming into 2025. Skubal going up against the best lineup in the game was enough of a challenge. It's hard to ask him for a pristine outing when facing that much elite talent. He can't, however, be tasked with that in addition to his offense leaving countless opportunities on the table to let the Dodgers off the hook.

The RISP issues were a theme late last year, and to start 0-for-15 after the first game of the new season certainly doesn't instill any confidence in regard to change on that front. Detroit was actually among the best in the league cashing in with runners in scoring position during the regular season, but when the stakes were higher in the postseason, they hit just .136 in 66 at-bats. Playing the Dodgers on any given night has a playoff feel, and that will be the standard the Tigers are held to this year if they want to make a legitimate run.

Go get 'em tomorrow. Just need one hit with a runner on second or third to break the dam.