DETROIT — Rarely has Tarik Skubal had a better night with his changeup than Friday. Royals hitters whiffed 10 times on 14 swings against the reigning American League Cy Young Award-winner’s nastiest pitch, including five of his season-high 12 strikeouts in the Tigers’ 2-1 win. It was so good that manager A.J. Hinch threw one.
As Skubal headed back to the dugout after the seventh inning, having stranded runners on second and third, Hinch was waiting at the dugout steps, seemingly ready to give his traditional end-of-outing handshake. Instead, Hinch gave Skubal a fist bump, a sign that he’d be going out for the next inning.
Hinch has kept a close eye on his ace Skubal’s workload all summer since his return from surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow. But with Skubal at 89 pitches and a left-handed hitter, Carter Jensen, set to lead off the eighth, it made sense.
“I wanted him to go out for that one hitter to get to that pocket of righties,” Hinch said.
Skubal knew the situation. He also knew the hook that was coming as soon as Jensen flied out on the second pitch of the eighth inning.
“He told me, ‘One more batter,’ and I obviously know what I was trying to do,” Skubal said. “A thousand [career] strikeouts is right there. I knew going into [the game] that I needed 13, and I was close. I tried not to look back at him. I didn’t think he was coming; I figured he’d give me one more chance, and if [that batter] gets out, give me another chance. But when I saw [first baseman Spencer Torkelson], I knew my day’s done.”
It left Skubal at 999 strikeouts for his career, a milestone for his next start. But it also brought an ovation as Skubal walked alone to the dugout, with the chants of “Skooooob” echoing around the ballpark.
“You don’t take those things for granted when your fan base gets on their feet and gives you a standing ovation,” Skubal said. “And they’ve done it when I haven’t pitched well, either. I think they just appreciate me, and I think that’s special. It’s something I don’t take for granted, for sure.
“They’ve done that a lot for me over the last three years, and I appreciate every single one of them.”
If it felt like potentially a goodbye, it was premature. Skubal has one more start before the Aug 3 Trade Deadline, wrapping up the homestand next week against the Orioles.
“We’ll see him on Wednesday,” Hinch said.
The longer the Tigers play like this, the more realistic it seems for the club to hold onto Skubal for the stretch run. Detroit’s sixth win in eight games out of the All-Star break brought them to within four games of .500 for the first time since May 12. Their playoff odds on FanGraphs crept over 40 percent for the first time since May 15.
Consider the ovation more of an appreciation for Skubal’s performance, and a reminder that Tigers fans don’t take it for granted. On the night the Tigers opened their 125th anniversary celebration weekend with members of their 2006 American League Championship pitching staff throwing ceremonial first pitches, Skubal put another gem on his resume among the greatest pitchers in franchise history.
It wasn’t just the strikeouts, but the efficiency. Five of Skubal’s first seven punchouts were in three pitches, all within the first four innings and 16 batters. He fanned four of Kansas City’s next six batters in four pitches each. Skubal fanned Carter Jensen and Vinnie Pasquantino three times in 10 pitches each.
It allowed Skubal to pitch not only stingy but deep, resting a bullpen that had been heavily taxed over the past week.
“Typically when you have high-strikeout days and there’s a lot of swing-and-miss, there’s a lot of foul balls, there’s deeper counts,” Skubal said. “But I think I can strike guys out in three pitches. I’ve done it a lot over the last however many years. I have the most leverage in a two-strike count. Why would I waste a pitch? I want them to swing at everything. You can get some big expands when you’re doing that.”
The Royals could fluster Skubal through small ball early in his career. When Tyler Tolbert followed Isaac Collins’ excuse-me double with a sac bunt to move a runner to third in the third inning, Skubal fanned Jensen and old nemesis Lane Thomas. It marked his 20th consecutive scoreless inning against the Royals, passing Justin Verlander and Milt Wilcox for the longest such streak by a Tiger.
It was dominant. It was ruthless. And yet, it was emotional.
“I think Tarik was pretty locked in tonight,” Hinch said.
