Detroit's 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
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
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.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canada News.Net
32 minutes ago
- Canada News.Net
David Peterson, Robbie Ray go head-to-head as Mets visit Giants
(Photo credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images) David Peterson will get an opportunity to personally thank Robbie Ray for his All-Star invitation when they go head-to-head on the mound as the New York Mets and host San Francisco Giants continue their three-game series on Saturday evening. Francisco Lindor hit his 20th home run of the season, and the first four batters in the Mets' order combined for seven hits, six RBIs and four runs, lifting New York to a trip-opening 8-1 romp over the Giants on Friday night. Peterson (6-4, 2.90 ERA) appeared destined to watch last week's All-Star Game on television before the Giants elected to start Ray on the Sunday before the showcase, disqualifying him from pitching in Atlanta. Shortly after Ray was formally listed as the projected starter, Peterson got the call that he'd be the veteran's replacement. Coincidentally, Peterson followed the Giants' Logan Webb to the mound in the All-Star Game. Each threw a scoreless inning -- Webb the third, Peterson the fourth -- in the 6-6 contest that ended with their National League team winning a home run contest. Peterson continued the form that earned him the All-Star nod in his first start after the break, limiting the Cincinnati Reds to one unearned run over six innings in his team's 3-2 win last Sunday. It was another indication he's fully healthy after he underwent surgery on a torn labrum in his left hip after the 2023 campaign, with the rehab delaying his 2024 debut until May 29 and limiting his innings last season to 121. He's already reached 115 innings this season -- not counting the one inning he threw in the All-Star Game. 'For me after the surgery, it was just getting back to being healthy, getting used to the new range of motion and all that came with the surgery,' the left-hander told reporters before the break. 'It was nice to have a full, regular off-season (leading into the 2025 season) to work on my strength and get that back. It's been good. It's kind of what I've always thought was in there.' Peterson has made three career starts against the Giants, going 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA. While each team also had an All-Star on the mound to start Friday's game, the Mets' Clay Holmes and Giants' Webb made it through just five and four innings, respectively. Taxing a bullpen in a series opener is never good, but it puts pressure on Ray to go deep into Saturday's game because the Giants have lost two starters in the last week. With ineffective Hayden Birdsong having gotten demoted to the minors and Landen Roupp forced onto the 15-day injured list with a sore elbow, the Giants already have designated Sunday as a bullpen day. 'Look, it feels like every team goes through it, and sometimes when it rains, it pours a little bit,' Giants manager Bob Melvin bemoaned to reporters before Friday's game. 'We do have some guys we like in Triple-A as far as the depth goes, so we'll see where that goes -- and we'll see what the deadline brings.' Ray (9-4, 2.92 ERA) came out of the All-Star break with one of his worst outings of the season, tagged for five runs in 4 1/3 innings by the host Toronto Blue Jays in an 8-6 loss last Sunday. But the left-hander has had success against the Mets, going 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA against them in seven lifetime starts.
Canada News.Net
33 minutes ago
- Canada News.Net
Tarik Skubal, skidding Tigers aim to slow down Blue Jays
(Photo credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images) The Detroit Tigers will look to their ace to end another losing streak -- if he's in uniform on Saturday. Left-hander Tarik Skubal was placed on the paternity list this week but is expected to start against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays in the third contest of a four-game series between division leaders. The Tigers have lost five straight games and the Blue Jays have won three in a row. In Skubal's last start on Sunday, the Tigers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers. Skubal (10-3, 2.19 ERA) wound up with a no-decision in that contest. The 2024 American League Cy Young Award winner lasted 6 2/3 innings and struck out 11. The lone Rangers run came home on a Tyler Holton wild pitch. 'I expect every time I go out there to put our team in a position to win, and we were able to do that,' said Skubal, who is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against Toronto. Detroit's lead in the American League Central has shrunk to 7 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said he believes the slide is just the product of a 162-game marathon. 'I've managed 100-plus-win teams that have gone through six- and seven- and eight-game losing streaks or lost 12 of 13 one year,' he said. 'And you don't think of that because we forget over time there's going to be a time that we all forget about this.' Right-hander Kevin Gausman (7-7, 4.01 ERA) will start for the Blue Jays on Saturday. He's coming off one of his best outings of the season, a seven-inning gem Monday against the New York Yankees in which he allowed one run and four hits while striking out eight in a 4-1 victory. 'He was unbelievable,' shortstop Bo Bichette said. 'I think that's what we expect from him, always. He was really hitting his spots. It's fun to watch him.' In his previous three starts, Gausman didn't go longer than 5 2/3 innings while throwing at least 96 pitches. He required only 86 in his seven-inning stint. 'That's Kev,' Toronto manager John Schneider said. '(Pitching coach Pete Walker) and I were joking before the game that we needed a gem from Kevin. He did it.' Gausman has made 13 career starts against the Tigers, posting a 4-3 record and a 3.40 ERA. In Detroit's home park, Gausman is 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA in five starts. The Blue Jays, who lead the AL East by 5 1/2 games over the New York Yankees, have 51 runs since the All-Star break, going 7-1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has led the attack during the last six games. He has five multi-hit games during that span with four doubles and a homer. He has five hits in the first two games of this series while scoring four runs and knocking in three. 'Any year, you can look up and Vlad can hit 50 homers or he can hit 20. It's what we need from him every night,' Schneider said. 'There's going to be a time where he's hitting homers in bunches, and that's great. Comparing it to other seasons, it's kind of tough for me because I've seen him for so long, and what he's doing right now doesn't look wrong.' Spencer Torkelson has been one of the few bright spots for the Tigers, homering in each game of this series.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ryan McMahon set to make his New York Yankees debut, batting eighth against Philadelphia
NEW YORK (AP) — Third baseman Ryan McMahon was set to make his New York Yankees debut Saturday, batting eighth against Philadelphia. New York acquired the 2024 All-Star from Colorado on Friday for a pair of 22-year-old pitchers in the low minors, right-hander Josh Grosz and left-hander Griffin Herring. McMahon, 30, was hitting .217 with 16 home runs and 35 RBIs for last-place Colorado. His 127 strikeouts trailed only the 138 of Detroit's Riley Greene, but McMahon was hitting .300 with three homers and seven RBIs in six games following the All-Star break. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP MLB:
