He's probably chiding himself for the walks, which is a sign that everything is working. He likely rues the three hits. Otherwise, Tarik Skubal was perfect on Tuesday against the A's, in control from the jump as his team tries to regain control of its season.
The Tigers woke up Tuesday on a six-game skid, owners of the worst record in the American League. Meanwhile, Casey Mize woke up rehabbing an elbow injury in Lakeland, and Matt Manning woke up rehabbing a shoulder injury in Triple-A. Skubal is the only member of the Big Three in the bigs at the moment, where things are spiraling for the Tigers for the second spring in a row.
It was troubling when the Tigers plunged to these depths last May. This May, it has been jarring. It has been deflating after an offseason in which the team spent about about $240 million on its roster. This was supposed to be moving year for the Tigers in one of baseball's most grueling rebuilds, and they've only moved backward. On Tuesday, Skubal pushed them forward.
From his first pitch of the afternoon, a 93 mph sinker that induced a ground-out to short, Skubal had it going. He got whiffs and soft contact with all five of his pitches, each one as nasty as the next. He got strikeouts with his slider, sinker and knuckle curve. He pounded the zone with his 95 mph fastball. He left with a 6-0 lead after seven scoreless innings, and the losing streak was over.
Skubal also left with an ERA of 2.40 on the season according to FanGraphs, which doesn't hold his team's defensive meltdown in Minnesota against him. (MLB.com charged Skubal with five earned runs in a game Detroit committed three straight errors behind him; Fan Graphs charged him with three.) By any measure, Skubal has been dealing. In his second full big-league season, the 25-year-old is coming into his own.
"He's turning into a really, really good pitcher," A.J. Hinch said prior to Tuesday's game, "and obviously the guy that we want on the mound when we're trying to get a win."
Skubal showed signs of being this pitcher last season when he broke the franchise rookie record for strikeouts. But he was troubled by erratic control and damaged by the long ball. He yielded one of the higher walk rates (2.8 BB/9) in the AL and the highest home run rate (2.1 HR/9) in the majors. At times, Skubal's delivery "was just a little too violent," said Hinch.
"The violence has to happen at the very end of your delivery and not at the beginning of your delivery. He's so big and he's so physical. When that's out of sync, all hell breaks loose," said Hinch.
The 6'3 lefty has straightened things out this spring. He has an ERA of 1.51 over his last five starts. More importantly, Skubal entered Tuesday with a walk rate of 1.01 BB/9, sixth lowest in the AL and one spot ahead of a guy named Justin Verlander. Which is why his three walks against the A's are likely eating at him now, even if they didn't cost him. He's also allowed just two homers in 34 2/3 innings.
"His delivery's gotten cleaned up a little bit," said Hinch. "When he exerts energy down the hill, he's timed up very well. I think his subtle mechanical adjustments have allowed him to have a very consistent delivery."
The result is a start like Tuesday, the best of Skubal's career. The rest of Skubal's career is coming into focus. He's the guy who has it going when the going gets tough, an arm the Tigers can trust, a starter they can turn to when they can't stop a slide. If they ever get moving this season, Skubal will be a big reason why.
