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 fell 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.

"It means a lot," Pérez said. "This is like a playoff atmosphere. We're just trying to play game by game, and then trying to win it all. Just stay in the fight and go to the playoffs."

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 at the plate and left-hander Tarik Skubal's dominance on the mound.

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

"He was incredible," manager A.J. Hinch said. "Really tough day to pitch. The game time change to the mist at the beginning of the game during his entire warmup to the importance of the day in a close game. He's our guy, and it was a big-time performance."

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 seat that I have is the best seat in the league with the best pitcher in the league on the mound," Hinch said.

The Tigers (83-74) — winners in 28 of 39 games — extended their AL wild-card lead to two games, with five games remaining. The Minnesota Twins, on the outside looking in, lost to the Miami Marlins.

"We got to get there," Skubal said. "We haven't clinched or done anything like that. We got to get there, so my mind is on Sunday. We got to keep winning, keep winning. We'll get there. We can talk about that when it comes time."

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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; the second was a six-pitch walk.

"He had the best at-bats of the day," Hinch said. "He had by far the best look at Pepiot. That's not an easy guy. He's got a lot of weapons. He got a lot of below-the-zone swings, but Wenceel seemed locked in against him and had really long at-bats. Maybe the first couple of at-bats that were good helped him in the most critical at-bat, which was the at-bat of the game."

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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.

"It was damp and misty," said Skubal, referencing the 50-minute rain delay before the game started. "And I sweat a ton. Match those things together, and it's sometimes hard to grip the ball. As the weather went away, I think that's probably why my stuff got better, because I was able to grip the ball a little bit better."

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 before walking to the dugout to a standing ovation from the fans.

"You just got to be heads up when he comes off the mound with how you're going to greet him," Hinch said. "You greet him with too big a hug, and he might knock you down the stairs. First bumps, they range in emphasis. He pitched his heart out."

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