Detroit's Tarik Skubal making a bid for a Cy Young repeat. He'd be the first in AL to do that since 2000
It takes a pretty special pitcher to pull that off — but Tarik Skubal fits the bill.
Skubal showed why he's the favorite to win the Cy Young for a second straight year, striking out 11 with no walks Sunday night in Detroit's 2-1 victory over Texas. If the Cy Young indeed goes to him, he'll be the first AL pitcher to earn it in back-to-back seasons since Pedro Martinez's remarkable stretch with the Red Sox in 1999 and 2000.
Roger Clemens won consecutive Cy Youngs on two different occasions (1986-87 and 1997-98), and Jim Palmer did it in 1975 and '76. Those are the only AL pitchers besides Martinez to pull that off. It's been a bit more common in the National League: Greg Maddux (1992-95) and Randy Johnson (1999-2002) both won four straight, and Tim Lincecum (2008-09), Clayton Kershaw (2013-14), Max Scherzer (2016-17) and Jacob deGrom (2018-19) are in the two-in-a-row club.
National Leaguer Sandy Koufax won the Cy Young in 1965 and 1966, back when there was only one award for both leagues.
The win Sunday snapped a six-game losing streak for the Tigers, who still have baseball's best record and an 11-game lead in the AL Central. Not only has Detroit struggled to win games lately, but the All-Star game didn't go great either, with Skubal giving up two runs in the first inning and Tigers teammate Casey Mize allowing a homer in the sixth.
Skubal, however, pitched well enough on Sunday to take over the AL lead in ERA. He's at 2.1854, while Boston's Garrett Crochet is at 2.1946.
Trivia time
In 1988, a Minnesota left-hander won the ERA title by an unusually slim margin, finishing at 2.4465, while Milwaukee's Teddy Higuera was second at 2.4545. Who was that Twins pitcher?
Double repeat?
Not only does Skubal have a shot at winning two straight Cy Young Awards, but last year's AL MVP — Aaron Judge — has a good chance to repeat as well.
Only three times has a league had back-to-back winners of both its MVP and Cy Young — and all three times it happened in the NL. Albert Pujols was MVP and Lincecum won the Cy Young in 2008 and 2009. Barry Bonds was MVP in 2001 and 2002 while Johnson was winning the Cy Young — and Bonds was also MVP in 1992 and 1993 while Maddux was taking Cy Young honors.
Line of the week
Miami's Kyle Stowers, who hit three homers last Sunday in the final game before the All-Star break, added two more in the Marlins' first game back Friday night. One of those was a two-run walk-off shot that gave Miami an 8-7 win over Kansas City.
Honorable mention: Minnesota's Joe Ryan allowed one run in seven innings and struck out 11 in a 7-1 win over Colorado on Sunday. The All-Star right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.63.
Comeback of the week
The New York Yankees rallied from a 7-2 sixth-inning deficit to beat Atlanta 12-9 on Saturday night. Trent Grisham hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the top of the ninth. Before that, the Yankees scored four runs in the sixth and got solo homers from Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe in the seventh and eighth. Atlanta's win probability peaked at 96.1% in the fifth, according to Baseball Savant.
Trivia answer
No, it wasn't Frank Viola, the Minnesota lefty who went 24-7 and won the Cy Young that year. The left-hander on the Twins who edged Higuera for the ERA title was Allan Anderson.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
26 minutes ago
- CBS News
UFL relocating Michigan Panthers out of Detroit, report says
The Michigan Panthers, which was founded in 2022, may be relocating out of Detroit, according to a report. Pro Football Newsroom's James Larsen first reported on the relocation. A source could not confirm whether the team was moving but told CBS News Detroit that six of seven people at the franchise's front office were laid off, which was considered to be unexpected. In a statement, the UFL said, "Every year, the League office looks at planning for next season and beyond. At this point, we have nothing to report on any unauthorized speculation." "What we're seeing this year is a much larger percentage of full timers being let go from their roles, and folks that need year-round jobs if you want your market to survive," Larsen told CBS News Detroit. Larsen says this includes marketing and ticket sales personnel who boasted some of the best attendance improvements in the league last season for the Panthers. "They had a 43.6% average attendance increase compared to 2024. If you're doing stuff like that and you're still getting fired, that goes to show the league has zero interest in being in this market going forward," he said. Fans can still put $50 deposits down on 2026 season tickets; however, it is unclear if there have been discussions about hosting future Panthers games at Ford Field. Larsen says the league could be moving the franchise out of Detroit due to the cost of playing there. "Ford Field is the most expensive venue the UFL has. If Michigan had won the division, they still wouldn't have been able to play that playoff game at Ford Field because of how expensive it is," he said. Larsen reported similar layoffs at the other three teams in the USFL conference (Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats), which he reports are also subject to relocation. He says Detroit stands out due to the timing of the alleged layoffs amid an impressive period of growth. If the team does move, Larsen reports that the league could be eyeing new markets in Ohio, Idaho, Florida and Kentucky.
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Why Sophie Cunningham alleges a TikTok got her a WNBA fine
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham alleges she got a $500 fine from the WNBA for roasting some of the league's officials on TikTok. "Cause there's not more important things to be worried about with our league right now," Cunningham sarcastically quipped on Twitter (X) on Wednesday with her allegation she got sent a $500 fine by the league for the attached satirical TikTok. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert noted the widespread frustration with league officiating this season during All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. However, it certainly appears the league isn't cool with players or coaches mocking any of the refs on social media, as Cunningham's alleged fine shows. Cunningham's alleged fine is more of an annoyance than a major punishment, but the sensitivity over league personnel criticizing WNBA officials appears to be very real.
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Jeff Teague quickly walked back on his baseless LeBron steroid accusations
LeBron James is set to enter his 23rd NBA season, and at 40 years old, he's still an All-Star caliber player. It's an astonishing career that spans multiple eras. But instead of choosing his favorite LeBron era, former NBA guard Jeff Teague sent a podcast discussion off the rails with a wild PED accusation about James. In the latest edition of the Club 520 Podcast, Teague was asked to choose the best version of James. And he said "Miami Heat 'Bron" without hesitation. And then to back up his argument, he went on to claim that James was using steroids. Like, out of nowhere. Teague said that once the league started testing for HGH, James suddenly had to sit out for multiple weeks with a mysterious back ailment only to come back skinnier. Teague told the story and was like, "I was in the league. I remember." Except none of that happened. The NBA didn't start testing for HGH until the 2015-16 season, and James was already back on the Cavaliers at that point. In his entire time with the Heat, LeBron never missed more than six games in a given season. LeBron did miss eight games in 2014-15 due to a back issue, but he was on Cleveland at that point. And, again, the injury predated the league's HGH testing program. Shortly after the comments went viral, Teague took to his Instagram to clarify that he was just joking. Yeah, safe to say that Teague heard from his agent or lawyer after that one.
