Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal put his left hand in his glove and raised his arms together.

It was Skubal's reaction to striking out Salvador Pérez in the sixth inning after Pérez hit a home run and a single in their first two of three total matchups.

"Good pitch," Pérez said. "You strike me out a lot."

"One of the best catchers to ever do it," Skubal said, when asked about the interaction. "To have that moment with him, I don't know if he thinks it's special because obviously he struck out, but I think he had a good day off me overall."

Pérez won more times than Skubal in their three matchups in Friday's game, but none of them ultimately made a difference in the Tigers' 9-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals in the second of four games in the series at Comerica Park.

The Tigers (52-59) have lost five games in a row.

"The fans were great tonight," said Skubal, who received a standing ovation when he left the game. "You tip your cap to that, especially how we're playing right now, too, for them to show up and show out and be loud, you appreciate those things."

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Skubal, who entered Friday with a 1.95 ERA in 10 starts at Comerica Park, allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks with eight strikeouts across 6⅓ innings, throwing 97 pitches. It was his first time allowing more than two earned runs at Comerica Park since April 5.

It also marked the first time Skubal has allowed more than four earned runs in a game since July 18, 2023.

Skubal owns a 2.57 ERA in 22 starts.

"I don't think the stat line shows how I performed tonight," Skubal said.

The key moment in the game occurred with one out in the seventh inning, with the Tigers down 3-2. Manager A.J. Hinch removed Skubal — arguably the best pitcher in baseball — before what could've been an epic battle with Bobby Witt Jr., who checks in as arguably the hottest hitter in baseball.

Skubal dominated Witt in their first three battles, but with runners on first and second base, Hinch replaced Skubal with right-handed reliever Shelby Miller.

"Tarik and I talked in the dugout," Hinch said. "I told him I had help for him at (Maikel) Garcia or Witt. I wanted to give him a chance to get Garcia. He could've got a double play. He could've punched him. The base hit chased him from the game. You know, Shelby's strength is the fastball up. It's the one area you have a shot at with Witt. He yanks it down, and off they go."

Facing Miller, Witt — extending his hitting streak to 15 games — legged out an infield single on a ball shortstop Javier Báez couldn't corral to load the bases.

After that, Vinnie Pasquantino sent Miller's first-pitch fastball to left field for a two-run single, making it 5-2. Both runs were charged to Skubal's tab, giving him five earned runs.

The Royals went on to score four more runs — thanks to a string of nine hits in a row — in the six-run inning against Miller and right-handed reliever Beau Brieske, taking a 9-2 lead.

Meanwhile, the Tigers mustered just three hits — one apiece in the first, sixth and ninth innings — and five walks.

"We got nothing to show for a few good at-bats," Hinch said.

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Facing Cole Ragans

Left-hander Cole Ragans, the other top southpaw in the American League, allowed two runs on two hits and four walks with six strikeouts across 5⅔ innings, throwing 97 pitches.

He departed with two on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, replaced by right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg. Wenceel Pérez popped out to second base to end the inning, stranding the runners.

The Tigers scored both runs off Ragans in the first inning, courtesy of Justyn-Henry Malloy's two-run home run.

Malloy crushed a two-strike 92.8 mph fastball — a slower-than-usual velocity located middle-middle in the strike zone — for a 403-foot homer to left field. His first homer in 11 days marked his eighth homer in 44 games this season.

Ragans owns a 3.36 ERA in 23 starts.

"It's always nice to get Tarik the lead and settle in against a good pitcher, and then that was it," Hinch said. "I thought our at-bats were decent. We didn't get a lot to show for it. It always feels like the at-bats can be better when you're not getting hits, but we did make him work a little bit."

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Tarik Skubal and Salvador Pérez

To open the second inning, Pérez pounded a first-pitch slider from Skubal for a solo home run to left-center field. He demolished the ball 448 feet with a 113 mph exit velocity, cutting the Tigers' lead to 2-1.

It was Pérez's 20th homer of the season.

"My interactions that I had with him over the All-Star break was pretty cool," said Skubal, a teammate of Pérez on the AL squad in the 2024 All-Star Game last month.

Pérez then opened the fourth inning with a leadoff single. He scored from first base on Hunter Renfroe's double that got away from left fielder Ryan Vilade, scampering from third to home in 3.89 seconds to beat the relay throw (after a replay review) from Vilade to Báez to catcher Jake Rogers.

The rare speed of Pérez tied the game, 2-2.

Pérez also had a double in the seventh inning off Miller, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers drop 5th straight in 9-2 loss to Kansas City Royals