DETROIT — Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki’s opposite-field fly ball kept carrying. And as Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter stutter-stepped into a leap at the wall, it looked as though it might put the Cubs ahead.
Instead, Carpenter caught the would-be extra-base hit to snuff out the Cubs’ hopes of an eighth-inning rally.
They finally had gotten past reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, putting two runners on for Suzuki before the Tigers brought in right-hander Will Vest to face him. But the Cubs fell just short, falling 3-1 in a battle between first-place teams.
‘‘I counted five really nice defensive plays that they made to turn balls into outs, really,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘So credit to them for that. [If you have a] good pitcher on the mound and you make five really good plays, that’s going to be tough.’’
It was a matchup between teams who entered Friday leading their respective leagues. The Tigers were at the top of the AL because of their pitching, led by Skubal. And the Cubs’ season has been headlined by their offense, which was leading the majors in runs per game entering Friday.
‘‘If anything, it highlights a lot of the stuff we’ve been doing to win baseball games,’’ Counsell said of the loss, ‘‘and how hard it is to win games. You’ve got to play really good baseball to win major-league games.’’
Pesky baserunning has been one of the Cubs’ calling cards this season, especially in close games and against good pitching. On Friday, it wavered just enough.
With speedy Pete Crow-Armstrong on first base with no outs in the fifth inning of a scoreless game, Dansby Swanson lined a double into left field.
Crow-Armstrong flew around second and was slowing as he approached third, watching the ball, when third-base coach Quintin Berry, his eyes trained on left fielder Riley Greene, waved him home. Crow-Armstrong turned on the burners rounding third before Berry quickly reversed his send, putting up the stop sign.
By then, Crow-Armstrong was too far off third to get back in time to beat the throw, his foot sliding out from under him as he abruptly changed directions. He was ruled out of the basepaths as he tried to avoid the tag.
‘‘They made a good play,’’ Crow-Armstrong said after the game. ‘‘I’d rather my coach be aggressive than not.’’
He might have been able to score if he had been running full speed the whole way. If he had stopped at third, he certainly would have scored on Nico Hoerner’s fly to center on the next at-bat.
‘‘If [Berry] could do it over, I think he’d probably just try to keep his eyes on Pete a little bit in addition; you’ve got to keep eyes on both people,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘But he thought there was maybe a chance to score him if Pete’s coming, and Pete saw it the other way.’’
The Cubs scored their only run in the sixth. Matt Shaw led off with a double and scored on a double by Kyle Tucker. That ended Skubal’s streak of 21 scoreless innings, matching his career high in a season (also May 2022).
Before Skubal left with two outs in the eighth, the Cubs managed eight hits against him, the most he had allowed all season.
‘‘It’s great stuff,’’ Counsell said of Skubal before the game. ‘‘But then it’s great stuff with a high ability to throw strikes and a fearlessness to just challenge you.’’
That fearlessness is something the Cubs have been working to draw out of right-hander Ben Brown, who answered the bell with seven innings of two-run ball.
‘‘That was definitely the most high-leverage intensity I’ve ever pitched in my life,’’ Brown said. ‘‘That was electric. Tons of fans. I loved it. They were into every pitch. Obviously, when Skubal’s pitching, it’s a different monster, too.’’
The Tigers scored their other run against reliever Genesis Cabrera, who yielded a solo home run to Jahmai Jones in the eighth. It was the first run he had allowed since signing with the Cubs last week.