Skubal (18-4), a leading candidate to win the American League Cy Young award, struck out seven batters while walking only one on a day the weather didn't cooperate. He is 6-0 with a 1.94 ERA in his past nine starts.
"I have the best seat in the house to watch the best pitcher in the league," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "He was incredible on a tough day to pitch. We changed the time from a night game to an afternoon game, then ended up sitting out an hour delay, but he dominated."
Skubal will get a chance for a 19th win Sunday if the Tigers need him to beat the Chicago White Sox on the final day of the regular season to make the postseason.
The Tigers (83-74) began the day tied with Kansas City for the second and third wild-card spots -- the Royals hold the tiebreaker -- and one game ahead of the Minnesota Twins.
Though the Tigers were sellers at MLB's trade deadline, they are an MLB-best 28-11 since Aug. 11.
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