ANAHEIM, Calif. >> The dustup with Zach Neto got most of the attention Friday night, which is a shame because it deflected some of the shine off what was another powerful pitching performance by Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.

He had everything going — power, efficiency and command. He struck out eight without walking anyone and blew through his six innings in just 73 pitches.

The only smear was Neto’s leadoff, first-pitch homer, which he stood at the plate admiring longer than Skubal had the stomach for.

Skubal got retribution for it in the third inning, blowing Neto away with a 99-mph four-seamer.

Benches briefly cleared after a fired-up Skubal told Neto, in R-rated language, to have a seat. Nothing came of it, as neither combatant took it personally and the game proceeded without further incident.

Skubal’s adrenaline, though, remained spiked. He was throwing his four-seamer between 98.4 and 99.7 mph, his sinker between 98 and 100, his changeup between 89.7 and 92.8 (1.4 mph firmer than normal) and his slider between 90 and 93.3.

Pitching angry? Maybe. Pitching with laser intent, for sure.

Skubal has put together one of the best five-start runs in baseball history. He’s covered 30 innings in that stretch, posting an 0.90 ERA with 38 strikeouts and one walk.

Only Zac Gallen (2023) and Corey Kluber (2018) have matched his numbers in all those categories over five starts.

The Royals had some success against Skubal back on April 20, attacking him early in the count and staying true to an opposite-field approach. They got seven singles off him that day and chased him after five innings, even though he allowed just two runs.

As Neto’s first swing showed, the Angels came in with a similar plan. Neto homered on the first pitch of the game (a 98-mph four-seamer). Logan O’Hoppe singled on a first-pitch four-seamer to lead off the second. Travis d’Arnaud singled off a second-pitch fastball to lead off the fifth.

And Skubal had them right where he wanted them.

“I want teams to swing early and often,” Skubal said. “It’s going to put me in a really good spot to have success and eat a lot of innings effectively. And they don’t get a chance to see what my stuff does.

“So swing all you want first pitch. I like it.”

Skubal ended up with four first-pitch outs and his pitch count was uncommonly low for a guy punching out eight. He was at 48 pitches after a six-pitch fourth and at 65 after the fifth.

And there was no damage after Neto’s homer.

“They made it known they were going to attack the four-seam and sinker early,” catcher Dillon Dingler said. “We switched it up later and threw more sliders and changeups early in counts. And that let us get back to the four-seam and sinker later.”

The Angels mostly got themselves out early or put themselves in disadvantaged counts early, and that is a bad recipe against any pitcher, let alone a reigning Cy Young winner.

“It’s just a matter of me executing pitches early in counts,” Skubal said. “That’s the name of the game, right?

“You execute pitches, it doesn’t really matter who is in the box — the outcome will be in your favor.”

Skubal was not surprised nor upset when manager AJ Hinch shook his hand after the sixth.

The two had already discussed the situation and the plan going in was for him go five or six innings, tops. It was a plan Skubal was on board with.

“This was his first start on regular rest,” Hinch said, meaning with four days between starts. “We’re going to stay really disciplined to how we handle our pitching. It’s one of our strengths and it’s something we’re really focused on.

“We’re going to keep their gas tanks full.”

It was May 2. The plan is for Skubal’s health and performance levels to stay strong for 30-plus starts and then into the postseason.

“I think it’s about being smart,” Skubal said.

“That’s what was going on today. I want to be healthy throughout the entire season, pitching deep and being fresh come postseason.”