It’s tough to overstate how good Tarik Skubal was for the Detroit Tigers in 2024. Not only did he win the AL pitching Triple Crown by leading his league in ERA (2. 39), strikeouts (228) and wins (18) as well as the AL Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote, he allowed four earned runs of less in 30 of his 31 starts.
(The exception: A five-run outing in a seven-inning loss to the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 2). With that in mind, here’s a quick look at Skubal’s six best starts of the regular season (though his postseason shutout starts in Houston and Cleveland were outstanding as well), in chronological order:JEFF SEIDEL:Tarik Skubal’s climb to AL Cy Young Award a testament of perseverance and his own magicThe buzz: The Tigers delivered a deluge of runs in the desert, but Skubal only needed one, as he allowed one hit — a one-out double off the center-field wall by Randal Grichuk in the fifth — and struck out six in six innings.
They said it: “That was fun,” Skubal, who grew up in Kingman, Arizona (about 200 miles from Phoenix), told reporters. “To throw in front of family and friends, the people that sacrifice everything for me to do what I do and support me, that’s always special. … I was probably a little more nervous for this start than I normally am, just because you want to put on a good performance in front of family and friends.
”The buzz: Skubal started a doubleheader at Comerica Park with seven electric innings, blanking the Bucs on three hits — all singles, in the first, second and fourth innings — and one walk. The Pirates loaded their lineup with righties, but to no avail; Skubal struck out eight — including three in the first inning — thanks to first-pitch strikes on 23 of 25 batters faced. That included the final 10 batters he faced.
They said it: “I thought early I had a lot of uncompetitive misses with two strikes,” Skubal told reporters. “I kept going right back at guys. My first-pitch strike percentage was really high, and then they started swinging and putting the ball in play once they realized I was going to be in the zone all day.
”GOIN’ TO WORK:Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal ‘worked really hard’ to become MLB’s best, says workout buddyThe buzz: This was the start that seemingly locked in Skubal’s Cy Young candidacy as he outdueled the NL’s then-ERA leader, Ranger Suárez, with seven innings of shutout ball. Skubal struck out seven and allowed just three hits: a single by Whit Merrifield in the second, double by Bryce Harper in the third, and single by Kyle Schwarber in the fifth. They said it: “Same ol’ Skub to me,” catcher Jake Rogers told reporters.
“He was dominant. He kept the hitters off balance. That’s a good lineup to go through.
Tip of the cap to him. ”The buzz: On the day Skubal was named to his first AL All-Star team, he made his case for the Midsummer Classic start — which eventually went to fifth-place Cy Young finisher Corbin Burnes, of Baltimore — with a scorching performance: one run allowed on three hits and no walks, with a career-high 13 strikeouts over seven innings. As he left the Great American Ball Park mound for the final time — following a whiff of Austin Wynns — Skubal let out an epic yell.
They said it: “He finished a couple of innings with some screams,” Tigers manager A. J. Hinch told reporters in Cincy.
“I love that. It’s something that we feed off because they’re all coming in big moments, and they’re all authentic. You can’t just yell and scream for no reason.
He’s in it. ”FRANCHISE HISTORY:Which Detroit Tigers have won the AL Cy Young award, along with Tarik Skubal? The buzz: At eight innings, this start that ended a two-game Tigers skid is the longest outing of Skubal’s five seasons, though he needed just 98 pitches in holding the BoSox to four hits and one run — on a two-out homer by Tyler O’Neill in the first inning — with eight strikeouts.
A whipping 73. 5% of Skubal’s pitches — 72 of 98 — went for strikes, including his last, a 99 mph heater that whiffed Ceddanne Rafaela. They said it: “I got pretty amped up to throw it as hard as I could,” Skubal told reporters in Boston.
The buzz: In the heart of a playoff chase for the first time in his career, Skubal didn’t disappoint, allowing no runs on two hits — singles in the inning and fifth innings — and one walk while striking out seven Rays. Skubal closed his regular season with 103 pitches, the last a 97. 1 mph four-seam fastball that drew a strikeout — his 228th (the seventh-most by a left-hander in Tigers history) — off a foul tip by Christopher Morel, and exited to a standing ovation.
They said it: “You just got to be heads up when he comes off the mound with how you’re going to greet him,” Hinch told reporters at Comerica Park. “You greet him with too big a hug, and he might knock you down the stairs. First bumps, they range in emphasis.
He pitched his heart out. ”[ Sections of this story originally ran in the Oct. 7 edition of the Freep’s Tigers Newsletter.
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