Wenceel Pérez kept battling.

The hard work paid off.

The 24-year-old saw nine pitches in his third plate appearance against right-hander Ryan Pepiot — as part of 26 pitches in three matchups — with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning. He felt behind by two strikes within the first two pitches, but he refused to strike out. On the ninth pitch, Pérez ripped an inside cutter down the right-field line for a ground-rule double.

The Detroit Tigers earned a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays to inch closer to clinching a spot in the American League wild-card race, thanks to Pérez's contact skills and left-hander Tarik Skubal's dominance on the mound.

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Skubal, the all-but-guaranteed AL Cy Young Award winner, tossed seven scoreless innings on two hits and one walk with six strikeouts, throwing 103 pitches. The 27-year-old will be available for the Sept. 29 season finale against the Chicago White Sox, if needed.

This time, Skubal received a standing ovation from the fans at Comerica Park. He acknowledged the support from the fans by clapping his left hand into his glove before walking into the dugout.

Skubal has a 2.39 ERA in 31 starts.

The Tigers (82-74) extended their AL wild-card lead to 1½ games, with five games remaining. The Minnesota Twins, on the outside looking in, play Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins.

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Before Pérez's big swing, the Tigers loaded the bases in the fifth inning with Trey Sweeney's walk, Jake Rogers' single and Parker Meadows' walk. Kerry Carpenter flew out to shallow right field, but with two outs, Pérez delivered by winning a nine-pitch battle.

He never quit.

Just like the 2024 Tigers never quit.

The ground-rule double from Pérez put the Tigers ahead, 2-0.

Pérez worked a walk in each of his first two plate appearances against Pepiot, before the double in the third matchup. The first was an 11-pitch walk, while the second was a six-pitch walk.

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Tarik Skubal starts

The first two innings didn't seem easy for Skubal.

The All-Star southpaw needed 19 pitches in the first inning, then he benefitted from a strike him out, throw him out double play with catcher Jake Rogers to complete a 14-pitch second inning. On the double play, a strong throw from Rogers cut down a speedy José Caballero.

After that, the Rays never threatened to score against Skubal. He worked efficiently as he carved up 15 of 16 batters in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Skubal struck out Christopher Morel swinging with an up-and-in 97.1 mph fastball to complete his 31st start. He screamed in celebration on the mound before walking to the dugout.

Finishing the job

The Tigers needed one reliever to get to the finish line.

Right-handed reliever Beau Brieske kept the Rays from scoring in the eighth inning, but with two outs in the ninth inning, Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run to right field.

But Brieske retired pinch-hitter Josh Lowe to end the game, striking him out on four pitches.

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 add to wild-card lead with 2-1 win over Tampa Bay Rays