On the evening June 29, mental focus, pinpoint command, and elite velocity converged as Tarik Skubal took the mound for the Detroit Tigers in a matchup against the Minnesota Twins. The result? A performance for the ages.
Skubal carved through seven innings of dominance, surrendering just one hit, issuing one walk, and fanning 13 batters–all while maintaining efficiency within 93 pitches. Notably, that lone hit came off a blazingly fast 99.7 mph heater late in the game.
He even struck out seven batters in a row, an electrifying stretch that showcased mastery over multiple weapons, especially his devastating changeup.
“There’s a lot of love for that guy,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “because of everything he does, when everybody expects it. It’s one thing to do it when you have sort of that first performance. But everybody in the league expects this guy to be perfect. And tonight, there was a moment when you’re like, ‘This is getting pretty deep into the game.’ And he wasn’t giving up any contact.”
Carving His Name into Tigers Lore
By achieving 13+ strikeouts with no more than one hit allowed, Skubal became the first pitcher in Detroit Tigers history to ever accomplish that feat. It’s a record that dwarfs anything the franchise has seen in its storied history.
“I appreciate the expectations from the fanbase or from whoever is watching me play,” Skubal said. “But I just want to win. That’s all that matters to me. To get another series win and to win on the day I’m going. But I appreciate it, and I expect the same thing from myself.
He also joined a select group of left-handed pitching legends–Chris Sale, Randy Johnson, and Sandy Koufax–as one of only four southpaws to post multiple starts in a single season with at least 13 strikeouts, zero runs, and two or fewer hits. And he became the first lefty in the pitch-tracking era to have multiple 13-K starts on fewer than 95 pitches.
“I don’t think I had these same expectations two or three years ago, and our team didn’t either,” Skubal added. “I want the fans to expect the best out of me because that’s what I expect, too. We want the same thing. They want to win, and I want to win just as bad.”
Season Reflections and Historical Context
Skubal’s dominance throughout the 2025 season has been no fluke. His record improved to 10-2 overall and 8-0 at home. The AL Cy Young winner from 2024, he has solidified his status as Detroit’s ace, posting an ERA around 2.15 and racking up 138 strikeouts, leading the American League.
To appreciate the magnitude of Skubal’s outing, consider his fellow pitchers. Aníbal Sánchez holds the Tigers’ record for 17 strikeouts in a single game (April 26, 2013), but he allowed more hits and runs. No Tiger has ever matched Skubal’s combination of strikeout volume and stinginess in a single scorekeeping entry.
Pitching Breakdown
Skubal’s arsenal is centered around a four-seam fastball that averages around 97 mph and occasionally ticks over 100, a requiring threat on its own. His two-seam sinker runs in the high‑90s as well, but the game-changer is his changeup, which averaged 86.3 mph and held hitters to just 55% contact, regularly stealing swings outside the zone.
“Today, I thought we saw some really good breaking balls, which he’s going to be proud of because he’s been working on trying to land that for a free strike,” Hinch said. “That’s not been in his arsenal a ton. It’s a fourth pitch, which (makes it) hard to go away from the elite side of his stuff. But he mixed in a couple of those.”
That festering uncertainty forced Twins hitters into a flurry of off‑balance swings, accounting for the barrage of swinging strikeouts–including on every man in the Twins’ starting nine.
“The changeup was phenomenal tonight…,” Hinch said. “He’s not a secret. He generally gets a lot of swing-and-miss, but he’s in the strike zone. And so he creates pressure from the time that they have to gameplan against him because he’s going to be in the box.”
Offensive Support & Team Momentum
Detroit’s bats didn’t take long to rally around their ace. Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene provided offensive spark early: solo home runs in the first and fourth innings, respectively, by the time the Tigers raced to a 3-0 lead. Carpenter even added an RBI triple before exiting with a mild hamstring injury.
On the heels of Skubal’s gem and with closer Will Vest shutting the door, Detroit secured a weekend series victory and remained tied for the best record in baseball at 53–32.
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