DETROIT (Interstat) — Tarik Skubal struck out 12 over 7 1/3 innings and Hao-Yu Lee drove in a run with a first-inning single as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Friday night at Comerica Park.

The Tigers, who improved to 50-54 with their second straight win over Kansas City, got all the offense they needed in the bottom of the first inning. Beck Way, the Royals’ starter, allowed three hits and two earned runs in a one-inning outing that ended after the opening frame. Detroit’s two-run first was keyed by singles from Colt Keith and Gleyber Torres, a hit-by-pitch on Dillon Dingler and a sacrifice fly from Riley Greene before Lee’s sharp line-drive single to center field scored Torres.

Kansas City, now 43-62, scored its lone run in the fourth inning. Salvador Perez led off with a double to center field off Skubal and moved to third on a groundout by Starling Marte. After Vinnie Pasquantino struck out, Nick Loftin doubled to left field, scoring Perez. That cut the deficit to 2-1 and marked the only run Skubal allowed. The left-hander, who improved to 7-5, surrendered four hits and walked one while striking out a season-high 12. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced before being replaced by Brenan Hanifee with two outs in the eighth.

The Royals threatened in the seventh. With one out, Loftin walked and Isaac Collins struck out. Michael Massey then doubled to right field, putting runners at second and third, but Tyler Tolbert flied out to center fielder Matt Vierling to end the inning.

Detroit manufactured its two runs in the first. After Keith singled to lead off and Torres singled, Dingler was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Greene’s sacrifice fly to left scored Keith. With two outs, Lee lashed a single to center that plated Torres and moved Dingler to second. The Tigers went scoreless the rest of the way, though Lee doubled with two outs in the sixth but was stranded.

Kansas City’s best opportunity aside from the fourth came in the third, when Isaac Collins led off with a double and Michael Massey walked. A sacrifice bunt by Tolbert moved both runners into scoring position with one out, but Skubal struck out Carter Jensen and Lane Thomas to escape.

Noah Cameron, who relieved Way after the first inning, was exceptional for the Royals. He pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, striking out eight and walking one. Cameron allowed no earned runs and retired 14 of the first 16 batters he faced after entering the game. He did not factor into the decision but kept Kansas City within striking distance.

Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his 12th save of the season. He struck out one and retired the side in order. The Royals went down quietly in the final frame, with Jac Caglianone flying out to center, Pasquantino striking out and Loftin popping out to second base.

The game was played in a crisp 2 hours, 7 minutes before an announced crowd of 40,638 at Comerica Park.

Skubal’s performance was his second consecutive strong start. On July 18, he threw seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels. In his previous outing before that, he allowed two earned runs over five innings in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 12.

For the Royals, the loss came after a stretch of six wins in their previous eight games, including a sweep of the San Francisco Giants from July 20-22. Kansas City had been held to one run in back-to-back games against the Tigers, following a 4-3 loss on Thursday.

Detroit, meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing streak with Thursday’s win and has now taken two straight from the Royals. The Tigers have won four of their last seven.

Key defensive plays helped keep the score low. In the bottom of the fourth, with Zach McKinstry on first after a single, Matt Vierling grounded into a double play started by shortstop Tyler Tolbert and turned by second baseman Michael Massey to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. In the eighth, with Gleyber Torres on base via a walk, Riley Greene grounded into another double play, this time from Massey to Tolbert to Pasquantino, after a Tigers challenge on a play at first base was upheld.

Way, who took the loss, fell to 1-1. He allowed three hits, two earned runs, one walk and struck out none in his lone inning of work.

Kansas City hitters managed just four hits: Perez’s double, Loftin’s double, Collins’ double and Massey’s double. The Royals struck out 13 times as a team. Detroit collected five hits, including singles by Keith and Torres, Lee’s single and double and a single by McKinstry.

The two teams will meet again Saturday in the third game of the four-game series. Kansas City’s next 10 games include three more at Detroit, three at Minnesota, three at Colorado and a home series against Minnesota. Detroit’s upcoming schedule includes the remainder of this series, three games against Baltimore, three at the Athletics and three at Seattle.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Detroit Tigers 6, Kansas City Royals 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Detroit with a 59.40 percent probability to win. Detroit had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 3 went over the over/under line of 7.5.