The Detroit Tigers have notched back-to-back victories to partially revive their American League wild-card hopes.

But an off-the-field transaction late in Saturday’s triumph will surely make the bid more challenging for a team five games below .500.

When the Tigers show up to play the Athletics on Sunday at West Sacramento, Calif., they will do so without two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

Skubal was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three prospects during Saturday’s 8-6 victory over the A’s. The left-hander was in his seventh season with Detroit.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Skubal will be missed.

“It’s been incredible,” Hinch told reporters after the win. “I’ve watched this guy rise to the top of the sport. He’s carried us a lot. I’ll forever be grateful that our paths crossed and the things that he did for this organization and for a couple playoff teams.”

Skubal is slated to be a free agent following the season.

He said he was excited about joining the Dodgers but also touched on disappointment over never pitching on baseball’s biggest stage while with Detroit.

“The goal was always to win a World Series for the city, and for the organization that took a chance on me,” Skubal said.

Right-hander Casey Mize could also be on the move prior to Monday’s trade deadline. He was scratched from his Friday start to make sure he would be healthy throughout the deal period.

Detroit now figures to look ahead to brighter days behind 21-year-old rookies Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. Both players were picked in the first round of the 2023 draft.

McGonigle, the 37th overall choice, made the Tigers out of spring training and is batting .290 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in Saturday’s victory.

Clark, the No. 3 overall pick, hit his first major league homer on Saturday, and is 5-for-9 with three RBIs and two doubles after his first two big league contests.

The three prospects heading to the Tigers are outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith.

The Athletics have dropped seven of eight games and 28 of their past 35 entering the finale of the three-game series. They were outscored 21-7 over the first two games.

Athletics All-Star Nick Kurtz sat out Saturday due to his right thumb injury flaring up and it is unclear if he will be available on Sunday.

Rookie Henry Bolte had three hits, including a three-run homer on Saturday. The homer was his first since July 7.

“I thought Henry had a great night,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “I thought, overall, his at-bats were quality (ones).”

Tommy White had a three-hit game to go with his two four-hit outings over his first 14 major league games.

Tigers right-hander Keider Montero (7-6, 3.34 ERA) opposes Athletics left-hander Gage Jump (4-6, 4.00) in the finale.

Montero had won four straight decisions before losing to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. He gave up six runs (four earned) and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Montero, 26, pitched against the A’s for the first time on July 8 when he tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out one.

Jump is just 2-4 with a 5.24 ERA in seven home starts. On the road, he is 2-2 with a 2.51 ERA in five outings.

Jump, 23, defeated the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday when he gave up three hits over six scoreless innings. He had lost his previous five starts.

The rookie has never faced the Tigers.

–Field Level Media

Sometimes, the decision to buy or sell at the trade deadline comes down to a single game.

Whether that’s the case with the Seattle Mariners might not be decided until Monday afternoon.

All-Star Randy Arozarena, whose name reportedly has come up should the Mariners sell, made a case against that Saturday. He recorded a double, home run and scored three times — including the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning — in a 4-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins.

The three-game series wraps up Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

The Mariners, who are chasing both Houston and Texas in the American League West race, snapped a three-game skid and won for just the third time in 11 games.

“It’s huge. It really is,” said Mariners starter Logan Gilbert, who didn’t get a decision despite pitching seven solid innings.

“I know we say that all the time, but like today was big. This series is big. That’s a good team over there. We’re at that point when it’s like you’ve just got to find a way, find a way to win, find a way to get it done, whatever it takes.”

The Mariners took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings before their bats went quiet.

Luke Keaschall and Trevor Larnach went deep as the Twins rallied to tie it.

Arozarena led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double down the left-field line off Twins reliever Andrew Morris and advanced to third as Dominic Canzone flew out to the warning track in left. The Twins intentionally walked Julio Rodriguez to set up a potential inning-ending double play with Cal Raleigh at the plate.

Raleigh hit a chopper to first baseman Royce Lewis, who stepped on the bag and turned toward second to try to throw out Rodriguez, who had stopped midway between the bases to get into a rundown. Arozarena took off for the plate and slid around the tag of catcher Victor Caratini to score the winning run.

“Once (Lewis) tags first then it’s a situation, even if Julio gets in a rundown, then Randy’s going to score,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “So, it’s got to be one of those ones that goes to second. We got to get the force first to come back. One of the reasons we walked Julio there was because we thought we had a chance to double up Cal if he put the ball on the ground and we just were not able to finish the play.”

The Mariners used closer Andres Munoz for 1 1/3 innings, and he ended up with the victory.

“When you’re close like this, everything, every win now has a greater importance,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

The Twins are set to send Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.65 ERA) to the mound Sunday in the series finale.

George Kirby (8-9, 3.98), whose name also has been mentioned in trade reports, is scheduled to start for Seattle in a matchup of right-handers.

Bradley has received no-decisions in his past two starts against Cleveland and Kansas City despite giving up three runs on five hits over 13 innings with 15 strikeouts. He’s 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in four career starts against Seattle.

Kirby gave up a season-high seven runs over four innings in a 7-3 loss July 27 at Texas. He’s 1-2 with a 3.90 ERA in five previous starts against the Twins.

This will be the second time this season Bradley and Kirby have squared off. Neither got a decision April 29 in Minneapolis in a game the Mariners rallied to win 5-3 on Cole Young’s two-run single that put Seattle ahead in the top of the ninth.

Bradley went seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts. Kirby gave up two runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings, with two walks and five strikeouts.

–Field Level Media

When Jake Cronenworth fell behind 0-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night, he knew what had to be done.

“Just battle, that’s about it,” he said. “Just find a pitch to hit, whether it’s 0-0 or with two strikes, that’s all.”

He did and the ensuing single to center gave the San Diego Padres a 6-5 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants, as well as a chance to win the teams’ four-game series when it wraps up on Sunday.

In winning for the seventh time in eight games, San Diego stayed a game behind Philadelphia for the National League’s final wild-card spot. It also assured that it will plunge into Monday’s trading deadline looking to add instead of subtract.

Starting pitching figures to be the emphasis. Even though the Padres have found some success with manager Craig Stammen’s “pitching chaos” strategy, employing a variety of starters to piggyback each other three of every five games in this stretch, it seems unlikely they can make it stick for the last two months.

That’s why Saturday’s news that veterans Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove threw bullpen sessions, perhaps heralding rehab assignments soon for both, was welcome news. Pivetta (elbow) has been out since mid-April and Musgrove (Tommy John surgery) hasn’t pitched since the playoffs in October 2024.

“It’s like they are starting their regular five-day routine,” remarked Stammen.

Michael King (6-7, 3.38) is looking for his first win since July 8. He was no-decisioned Tuesday night in his team’s 8-7 win over Colorado, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk in six innings while fanning six. King is 3-1 with a 2.22 earned run average in five career outings against San Francisco.

Opposing King will be Landen Roupp (7-9, 4.12), who is coming off an 8-2 loss Tuesday night to Milwaukee. He needed 84 pitches to make it through 3 2/3 innings, yielding four hits and four runs with three walks and a strikeout.

Roupp is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in eight career games against San Diego, with the win occurring on March 30. He blanked the Padres through six innings, allowing two hits, two walks, while fanning seven.

For the second straight day, the Giants made as much news off the field as they did on it. Manager Tony Vitello held out second baseman Luis Arraez, who many think will be dealt by the trading deadline, due to cramping.

Vitello also sprung to the defense of shortstop Willy Adames after Apple TV announcer Wayne Randazzo implied during Friday night’s 7-0 loss that Adames was slow to commit to the workload asked of him by first-year infield coach Ron Washington.

“Any questioning of anyone’s work ethic that has to work with Wash is not right,” Vitello said. “Anyone who’s around Wash, you don’t have a chance to buy in. It’s not an option. You do. And then the work is put in.”

Vitello also noted that Adames has battled a back injury that has limited his pregame work on some days.

–Field Level Media