Tarik Skubal pitched one-run ball into the eighth inning, and Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the opener of a weekend series between two of the majors' best teams.

Since then, they have allowed only 24 more runs, in 11 games — and six of those 24 came in a single game, with only 18 in the 10 others, including just 13 in the last seven: 0, 3, 3, 2, 1, 3 and 1. The last time they allowed fewer than 13 runs over seven games was July 5-12 of last year,