Tarik Skubal gave it to the Cleveland fans, and then heard it from his mom.
After expressing his "raw emotion" in the form of a few choice words for the crowd at Progressive Field while walking off the mound during his dominant start in the Tigers' win over the Guardians in Game 2 of the ALDS, Skubal got a text from his mom Laura that echoed her response on X: "Tarik Daniel!"
"She texted me after the game, 'Love you,' whatever, but she was saying the same thing, she's like, 'You can't do that on the road.' And I'm like, 'I know, Mom, I know. I don't what got into me,'" Skubal said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "That was really funny."
Skubal, 27, laughed and said he hasn't been reprimanded by his middle name since he was much younger: "Tarik Daniel is when I was in trouble growing up, so I haven't got that in a while, probably since high school is the last time I was really in trouble with my mom."
Skubal had a couple back-and-forth interactions with the fans in Cleveland as he shut out the Guardians over seven innings and said he "probably shouldn't have done it, but it was just in the moment."
"I guess I wish I would have just kept it within our team and our guys and not really interact with the fans, just because it becomes a slippery slope and some bad things can happen, especially if fans are drunk, whatever, (stuff) happens," Skubal said. "I should probably just keep that within our team going forward, but it was fun. Obviously, I fed off of it."
Skubal, the likely American League Cy Young winner, said the Tigers are also feeding off the excitement surrounding Detroit sports at the moment, which started with the Lions' run to the NFC title game last season.
"What they did last year was a ton of fun," Skubal said. "You saw the fans buy into the Lions and everything that Dan Campbell is doing over there, and then it trickles down to us. And then the Red Wings made a playoff push, they won their last game but got a little unlucky with another team winning and not getting in, you see what they're doing and the momentum they have, we're just feeding off that, too, with our team.
"I think Detroit is a great sports town. If you provide winners, they're going to come and support and get loud and create great environments for your guys to play in. So I think (the city) is connected in that aspect. Every organization right now is trying and doing whatever they can to win, and I think it makes for a fun sports town."
Skubal is lined up to start Game 5 back in Cleveland, if necessary. The Tigers would have to make it to the ALCS for Skubal to potentially take the mound at home again this season.
"I want to throw at home, always," he said. "Throwing in front of your home fans is a ton of fun. Throwing in a hostile environment is fun in its own right, but nothing beats throwing at home in front of your own fans. The support they give you, you feed off that even more."
