The Tigers lost a Tarik Skubal start, and the search for answers continues

New York Times

27-07-2025

DETROIT — Tarik Skubal dealt with the uncertainty all week. With his wife, Jessica, due to give birth to the couple's second child any day, Skubal went on the paternity list. He continued his between-starts routine as best he could, trying to maintain normalcy even with a major life event at the forefront of his mind.
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Even before first pitch Saturday, it seemed there was a chance Skubal could be pulled from the bullpen or the field at any moment.
'If we get a call, we'll make him come out of the game or out of his warmups or out of wherever,' Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. 'I don't even know if he'll be here postgame, depending on how it goes.'
Skubal did his best to compartmentalize, to separate the personal from the professional, to give his best effort to a Tigers team that sorely needed it. Detroit entered play having lost 11 of its past 12 games. Here in this free fall, the Tigers hoped their ace could help erase their woes.
Skubal answered the bell. He pitched six innings. Came out with electric stuff.
'Kind of vintage Tarik Skubal tonight,' Hinch said.
The Tigers even backed him up in the field. Catcher Jake Rogers made a stellar back-pick throw to nab Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at third base in a key situation. In the sixth inning, Bo Bichette battled Skubal for 13 pitches and ultimately worked a walk to load the bases. When ensuing batter Tyler Heineman blooped a ball to center, Matt Vierling made a tremendous throw home to get George Springer on a forceout at the plate. Rogers even applied a tag for good measure.
In a bases-loaded jam, Skubal punched out Addison Barger on a 100.5 mph sinker to end the day. Skubal let out perhaps his most visceral yell of the season, and that's saying something.
101 MPH to escape the jam 🔥
Tarik Skubal is FIRED UP 😤 pic.twitter.com/5JLtVtnaNM
— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2025
'That's just me being in the moment and being who I am,' Skubal said.
That Bichette plate appearance, though, was still consequential. It contributed to a 34-pitch sixth inning that ran Skubal's pitch count to 96. The workload ensured his day was done after six innings.
'Bichette kind of took the decision away from us,' Hinch said.
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Meanwhile, a Tigers offense that had mustered only 15 runs in eight games since the All-Star break provided Skubal with only a ground-ball single from Rogers for support. Kevin Gausman vexed the Tigers with his splitter for six innings. The game was locked in a scoreless tie when the starters left. That meant three innings to play with everything at stake.
With Skubal out of the game, Detroit's bullpen again got bashed. Will Vest, to this point the team's most capable reliever, gave up two runs. Chase Lee, one of the most pleasant surprises of the Tigers' first half, was pummeled for four.
The Tigers lost 6-1, their 12th loss in 13 tries. Rogers, a catcher with a .184 batting average, mustered the team's only two hits.
The Toronto Blue Jays have surged to the best record in baseball. The Tigers, meanwhile, are falling further into a dark pit with every loss. What started as a losing streak has quickly morphed into a pressure cooker.
'It's been brutal,' Hinch said. 'I think our guys are feeling it. … Right now, we're beat up, and we should be. We've had a brutal stretch here. It can change tomorrow.'
There are no easy answers in situations like this. Words don't do much good when the play on the field simply isn't correcting.
So, what's the answer?
'I wish I knew,' Rogers said, 'because I'd tell every guy in here. Again, we're in a tough stretch — there's no doubt about it. We've got to be better.'
The bullpen has been beleaguered for almost two months. The offense has entered a deep slumber that threatens to undermine the Tigers' identity. One example: The mix-and-match Tigers did not pinch hit in Saturday's game. Their versatile construction is dependent on having 13 players capable of producing. Lately, they've struggled to get anyone but Spencer Torkelson going at the plate. Their offense ranks last in OPS in this short stretch since the break.
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'I don't know if we're being too aggressive or not too aggressive,' Rogers said. 'We're just in limbo right now. … When we were doing well, we were getting into the bullpen. We were getting starters out early and getting to the bullpen, and it runs up our chances late in the series to use more and more bullpen arms.'
Skubal has become the face of this team and one of its most important voices, too. Saturday night, he stood at his locker, mostly keeping the personal side of a stressful week to himself.
As the conversation turned toward the game and the course of the season, Skubal tried to speak for his team. He said the Tigers will be better for having encountered this adversity.
'It's not because of lack of effort or trying or give-a-s— or anything like that,' Skubal said. 'Our team really cares each and every day, and the one thing I can always trust is preparation. That's what I trust when I go out there, and I think our guys, 1 through 26, are doing the same thing. It's just not going our way right now. People probably don't want to hear this, but it's part of the game. We're gonna be better for it. Whenever the tides turn, we're gonna be better for it.'
Time might prove Skubal correct. But the longer this losing stretch lingers, the more cause there is for concern.
'Failure, there's a ton to learn from and a ton of success to happen on the other side of it,' Skubal said. 'I don't think anyone in here is afraid of failure, either. It's just part of the game. You got to keep stacking good days and good days of work. I like our odds against anybody.'