The Detroit Tigers have enjoyed having some fantastic pitchers on their team over the years, from Jack Morris to Justin Verlander, but right now, Tarik Skubal is simply dominating. To say that Skubal is on fire would be an understatement.
It’s been a long time coming for Skubal. The Tigers selected the lefty in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB draft as the 255th overall pick, and he made his big MLB debut with the team in 2020. Now, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to envision the Tigers without him.
Skubal played collegiately at Seattle University, where he actually holds the school record for wins. Skubal, 28, spent four seasons with the team and “departed as the highest drafted player in program history, with his name also firmly cemented in the school’s record book,” according to the Seattle University website. He was also inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2024. On top of holding school records in wins, he also had the lowest ERA for a starting pitcher (2.11) and opponent batting average (.221) and ranked second in career strikeouts (224).
All of that is a fancy way of saying that Skubal deserves to be one of the faces in the MLB, and he’s starting to get that attention.
MLB Gives Props to Tarik Skubal
Skubal hasn’t lost a game since early April, and he kept up that record during the team’s game Sunday, July 6, against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. During the game, he threw seven shutout innings and struck out 10. It all helped make for a dominant 7-2 victory over the Guardians on enemy soil.
During the game, the MLB announced that Skubal has made some history. “Tarik Skubal has FIVE scoreless outings in his last eight starts (1.12 ERA),” they stated on X. The Tigers’ account retweeted it and added their own posts praising the pitcher.
“Wow nice outing so far,” one commenter stated. “Wheels and Skubal are your CY Young winners book it,” another stated.
When Skubal pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on three hits, with no walks and 10 strikeouts, he actually hit a milestone only three other lefty pitchers have. Skubal became the fourth left-handed pitcher in MLB history to have at least three starts in a single season with no runs allowed, no walks allowed and 10 or more strikeouts. The others were Sandy Koufax in 1965, Randy Johnson in 2004 and Clayton Kershaw in 2015, so that puts him in elite company.
Tiger Pitcher Gets Rave Reviews
“Nugget Chef” on X shared the news, and it garnered some comments. “Steve Carlton’s 1972 season is the high water mark for me for southpaws, considering he won 27 games for a team that won only 59. He also had 30 complete games. Skubal’s current season is amazing,” one commenter said. “The problem is he has the Felix Hernandez treatment going on – an offense that is immune to scoring runs to help him,” one said.
In 2024, Skubal was an AL All-Star, MLB Players Choice AL Outstanding Pitcher, the AL pitching triple crown winner and the unanimous AL Cy Young winner, and he’s poised to make that kind of noise again. It’s truly a match made in baseball heaven.
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