Latest news with #TarikSkubal
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Japan Times
Tigers focused on getting back to playoffs and contending for World Series
Even after an exciting, plucky Detroit Tigers team pushed its way into the postseason last year, it would have been far-fetched to predict the production the club has engineered midway through 2025. At 59-38, Detroit owns the majors' best record and sent six All-Stars to Atlanta, the most of any team. And still, it doesn't seem the Tigers are being lauded as the title contenders that their numbers suggest. Detroit, which leads Minnesota by 11½ games in the American League Central, is spearheaded by reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and his 10-3 record, 2.23 ERA and league-leading 0.83 walks plus hits per innings pitched. Fellow All-Star Riley Greene has blasted 24 home runs, while a solid bullpen has helped the Tigers post four separate five-game winning streaks. For a team on pace to win its most games since 1984 — when the Tigers went 104-58 on the way to the franchise's last World Series triumph — not much matters before October. "The goal, to me, of baseball is to win and win championships," Skubal said during the All-Star week news conference. "So as much as this is an honor, and I appreciate this moment, and I'm going to have a good time over the next couple days, my focus is on winning a championship, and that's what the game's about. So I don't really think that I've accomplished much until I win a championship." Sparking the team's turnaround from the dugout, former World Series champion manager A.J. Hinch knows better than the most of the players in the Tigers' clubhouse what it takes to finish a season as the last team standing. "I am very proud of where we're at, at the midway point of the season," said Hinch, who managed the 2017 Houston Astros to the title. "When you start looking at the series that we've won, there are a lot more series won than lost, so I think we're in a good position to have a very special summer. We just have to do a lot of work to get there. We have a good team. We have a winning team that I'll feel can stack up against anybody." Although the club's All-Star hitters — Greene, Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres and Zack McKinstry combined to go 0-for-8, and Skubal and Casey Mize combined to allow three runs on four hits in 1⅔ innings — the fact that Detroit, which lost 96 games three years ago, had players littered across the field is a testament to the present and future of what Tigers baseball has become.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Max Fried on blister injury, conversation with Tarik Skubal about All-Star Game start
Max Fried and Aaron Boone speak about the Yankees' 4-1 loss to the Cubs, Fried's blister injury, and speaking to Tarik Skubal about being American League All-Star Game starter.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tarik Skubal leads American League lineup as starting pitcher for 2025 All-Star Game
Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal and Yankees manager Aaron Boone talk to reporters July 14, 2025, at the All-Star Game Press Conference at Truist Park.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Tarik Skubal not satisifed until his Tigers win a championship
July 16 - ATLANTA -- Even after an exciting, plucky Detroit Tigers team pushed their way into the postseason last year, it would have been far-fetched to predict the production they've engineered midway through 2025. At 59-38, Detroit owns the majors' best record and produced six All-Stars in Atlanta, the most of any team. And still, it doesn't seem the Tigers are being lauded as the title contenders that their numbers suggest. Detroit, which leads Minnesota by 11 1/2 games in the American League Central, is spearheaded by reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and his 10-3 record, 2.23 ERA and league-leading 0.83 WHIP. Fellow All-Star Riley Greene has blasted 24 home runs, while a solid bullpen has helped the Tigers post four separate five-game winning streaks. And while DraftKings likes Skubal to repeat as the Cy Young (-200), the New York Yankees - with six less wins than Detroit - are still a favorite over the Tigers to become the American League team to win the World Series (+650 to +700). For a team on pace to win its most games since 1984 - when the Tigers went 104-58 on the way to the franchise's last World Series triumph - not much matters before October. "The goal, to me, of baseball is to win and win championships," Skubal said during the All-Star week press conference. "So as much as this is an honor and I appreciate this moment and I'm going to have a good time over the next couple days, my focus is on winning a championship, and that's what the game's about. So I don't really think that I've accomplished much until I win a championship." Sparking the team's turnaround from the dugout, former World Series champion manager A.J. Hinch knows better than the majority of members in the Tigers clubhouse what it takes to finish a season as the last team standing. "I am very proud of where we're at, at the midway point of the season," said Hinch, who managed the 2017 Houston Astros to the title. "When you start looking at the series that we've won, there are a lot more series won than lost, so I think we're in a good position to have a very special summer. We just have to do a lot of work to get there. We have a good team. We have a winning team that I'll feel can stack up against anybody." Although the club's All-Star hitters - Greene, Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres and Zack McKinstry combined to go 0-for-8, and Skubal and Casey Mize combined to allow three runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings - the fact that Detroit, which lost 96 games three years ago, had players littered across the field is a testament to the present and future of what Tigers baseball has become. --Jack Batten, Field Level Media
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Twins' Byron Buxton rips Automated Ball-Strike system: 'I ain't a fan'
ATLANTA – Minor league baseball players have had the opportunity to get familiar with the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system. Major league players were introduced to it in spring training, but once the regular season began, human umpires ruled whether a pitch fell within the strike zone. The challenge system, which has sparked some controversy in the baseball world, made its primetime debut Tuesday night in Atlanta at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. It didn't take long for the ABS system to affect the Midsummer Classic. In the bottom of the first inning, American League pitcher Tarik Skubal's pitch to Padres infielder Manny Machado was called a ball. The ruling resulted in a 1-2 count instead of a strikeout. But an appeal was made to the ABS challenge system, which sent Machado to the dugout with a strikeout. "I ain't a fan of ABS," Buxton told Fox News Digital in the American League clubhouse Tuesday, just hours before the robot umpire challenge system made its debut at the All-Star game in Atlanta. "That's why baseball is the way it is now. That's why you get crazy Instagram messages, Twitter messages now. ABS just seems to make things a little more complicated (because) if you can bet on if that pitcher (is) going to throw a strike or not. … that's pretty wild to me." "I don't know how many people are going to get 4,000 hits," the 31-year-old told Fox News Digital. "In my opinion, it's pretty wild he wasn't in the Hall of Fame to be able to see it. It's just one of those (things) where, give him the respect. (No other player got) that many hits, so give him the respect." In May, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other deceased players were removed from the league's "permanently ineligible list." Buxton hit a key double in the ninth inning of Tuesday night's All-Star game at Truist Park. The National League won the first swing-off in All-Star game history to secure its second All-Star victory in three years. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
