Tarik Skubal earns 17th win as Tigers beat Royals 4-2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tarik Skubal allowed three hits over five innings for his 17th win and the streaking Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night to move within a half game of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining.

Riley Greene hit a go-ahead home run as the Tigers (80-73) won their fourth straight and ninth in the last 11 games. With the series sweep, Detroit won for the 25th time in 35 games to move within a half game of Minnesota (80-72) for the third AL wild-card spot.

“These guys, first of all we believe, and second we come every day to try to win the game, and we are winning a lot, which is fun to watch these guys learn and grow and compete until the end of the game,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.

Skubal (17-4), who has won his last five decisions, made his case for the AL Cy Young Award stronger by matching Atlanta’s Chris Sale for the major league lead in wins and lowered his AL-leading earned run average to 2.48. He walked one and struck out seven.

“Really proud of the guys. Last time we came here we were on the other side of the sweep,” Skubal said. “We’ve got a great group, a resilient group. I mean if you just look at the season that we’ve had, I think it shows in this series.”

Skubal had struggled against the Royals in the past, entering Wednesday with a 2-9 record and 5.05 ERA in 12 starts over 14 appearances. After allowing three hits and Yuli Gurriel’s two-out RBI single in the first inning, he threw four hitless innings.

“We put some good at-bats on him early, but once he got the runs, five of the next six hitters were 0-2 counts. He’s coming after us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Skubal. “But that’s how he pitches. He’s not picking at the corners. He’s got elite stuff and he knows it.”

Skubal screamed after striking out Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez with two on for his final out in the fifth.

“For me it’s always about executing pitches,” Skubal said. “If I can execute pitches at a high clip, I like my chances against anybody, no matter how many times they’ve seen me."

Hinch was happy to see his ace battle through 95 pitches though he wasn’t as sharp as his previous starts.

“It was a big fight for him, but he did a great job,” Hinch said. “Sometimes five is enough, and he did his job by getting the biggest out against his biggest nemesis and showed a ton of emotion. ... If he somehow isn’t able to make pitches to Salvy, who has been good against him, this game’s completely different. He’s our guy. We needed our guy to do his part, and he did."

The Royals (82-71), who lost their fourth straight, were swept for the first time at home this season and the third time overall. They remained 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the first wild-card spot and 1 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota for the second wild card. The Orioles and Twins both lost earlier Wednesday.

Skubal struck out major league batting leader Bobby Witt Jr. twice before hitting him with a pitch in the fifth. Witt, who became the first player in major league history with multiple seasons of 30 home runs and 30 steals in his first three seasons Tuesday, broke Hal McRae’s 1977 franchise record with his 87th extra-base hit of the season with a bloop double to lead off the eighth.

Perez then drove in Witt with a single off reliever Brenan Hanifee. Sean Guenther preserved the 4-2 lead with a double play and a fly out. Guenther got the first out of the ninth and Will Vest got the final two for his second save.

Royals starter Alec Marsh (8-9), coming off a career-high 11 strikeouts in his last start, lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks.

Perez and Gurriel, who is hitting .385 since the Royals acquired him from Atlanta, each had two hits for the Royals.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Rookie 3B Colt Keith is day to day after reinjuring his right shoulder in Tuesday’s game on a diving attempt in the field. He has had a right shoulder problem in three straight seasons. He did not play Wednesday, but Hinch said he would hit in the batting cage during the game. “It could have been much worse,” Hinch said.

UP NEXT

Tigers: Detroit has not announced a starter for Friday’s series opener at Baltimore.

Royals: RHP Michael Wacha (13-7, 3.29) is scheduled to start Friday’s home series opener against San Francisco. Wacha is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in nine career starts against the Giants and 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA this season at home.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Detroit Tigers' Jace Jung (17) beats the tag by Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez to score on a double by Trey Sweeney during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers' Jace Jung reacts after striking out with the bases loaded during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Alec Marsh throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers' Trey Sweeney watches his two-run double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers right fielder Wenceel Perez catches a fly ball for the out on Kansas City Royals' Tommy Pham during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. reacts after being hit by a pitch thrown by Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers' Jace Jung runs home to score on a double by Trey Sweeney during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers' Jace Jung (17) beats the tag by Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez to score on a double by Trey Sweeney during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers' Jace Jung slides home to score on a double by Trey Sweeney during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals center fielder Garrett Hampson catches a fly ball for the out on Detroit Tigers' Trey Sweeney during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Starvation was likely the leading cause of death for a Palestinian teenager who died in an Israeli prison, according to an Israeli doctor who observed the autopsy.

Seventeen-year-old Walid Ahmad, who had been held for six months without being charged, suffered from extreme malnutrition, and also showed signs of inflammation of the colon and scabies, said a report written by Dr. Daniel Solomon, who watched the autopsy, conducted by Israeli experts, at the request of the boy's family.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of Solomon's report from the family. It did not conclude a cause of death, but said Ahmad was in a state of extreme weight loss and muscle wasting. It also noted that Ahmad had complained to the prison of inadequate food since at least December, citing reports from the prison medical clinic.

Ahmad died last month after collapsing in Megiddo Prison and striking his head, Palestinian officials said, citing eyewitness accounts from other prisoners. Israel’s prison service said a team was appointed to investigate Ahmad’s death and its findings would be sent to the authorized authorities.

Ahmad is the youngest Palestinian prisoner to die in an Israeli prison since the start of the Gaza war, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel, which has documented Palestinian prisoner deaths. He was taken into custody from his home in the occupied West Bank during a pre-dawn raid in September for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers, his family said.

The autopsy was conducted on March 27 at Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, which has not released a report of its findings and did not respond to requests for comment. The Ahmad family's lawyer, Nadia Daqqa, confirmed Solomon, a gastrointestinal surgeon, was granted permission to observe the autopsy by an Israeli civil court.

Rights groups have documented widespread abuse in Israeli detention facilities holding thousands of Palestinians who were rounded up after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority says Israel is holding the bodies of 72 Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails, including 61 who died since the beginning of the war. Israel often holds on to bodies of dead Palestinians, citing security grounds or for political leverage.

Conditions in Israeli prisons have worsened since the start of the war, former detainees have told the AP. They described beatings, severe overcrowding, insufficient medical care, scabies outbreaks and poor sanitary conditions.

Megiddo Prison, a maximum security facility where many Palestinian detainees, including teens, are held without charge, is regarded as one of the harshest, said Naji Abbas, head of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel.

Israel’s prison service said it operates according to the law and all prisoners are given basic rights.

Ahmad’s lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, said Israeli authorities denied his requests to visit his client in prison, but three prisoners held there told him Ahmad suffered from severe diarrhea, vomiting, headaches and dizziness before he died. They suspected it was caused by dirty water, as well as cheese and yogurt prison guards brought in the morning and that sat out all day while detainees were fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the lawyer said.

According to Dr. Solomon's report the autopsy showed that Ahmed likely suffered from inflammation of the large intestine, a condition known as colitis that can cause frequent diarrhea and can in some cases contribute to death.

But medical experts said colitis usually doesn’t cause death in young patients and was likely exacerbated by severe malnutrition.

“He suffered from starvation that led to severe malnutrition and in combination with untreated colitis that caused dehydration and electrolyte levels disturbances in his blood which can cause heart rate abnormalities and death,” said Dr. Lina Qasem Hassan, the head of the board for Physicians for Human Rights Israel who reviewed the report at the request of the AP.

She said the findings indicated medical neglect, exacerbated by Ahmad’s inability to fight disease or infection because of how malnourished and frail he was.

Dr. Arne Stray-Pedersen, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of Oslo in Norway who was not involved in the autopsy, said the report suggests there was a period of prolonged malnutrition and sickness lasting at least a few weeks or months. “Based on the report, I interpret the underlying cause of death to be emaciation-wasting,” he said.

Scabies rashes were also noted on his legs and genital area, the report said. There was also air between his lungs that expanded into his neck and back, it said, which can cause infection. Air can come from small tears in the lungs, which can occur from severe vomiting or coughing, it said.

Ahmad’s family said he was a healthy high schooler who enjoyed playing soccer before he was taken into custody. His father, Khalid Ahmad, said his son sat through four brief court hearings by videoconference, and he noticed at one of them, in February, that his son appeared to be in poor health.

The family hasn’t yet received a death certificate from Israel, the elder Ahmad said Friday, and are hoping Dr. Solomon's report will help bring his son's body home.

“We will demand our son’s body for burial," he said “What is happening in Israeli prisons is a real tragedy, as there is no value for life.”

AP reporter Jalal Bwaitel contributed from Ramallah, West Bank.

Palestinian women walk past a poster showing Waleed Ahmad that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Khalid Ahmad, holds childhood photos of his son, Waleed, at his family home in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)