Tarik Skubal is excited for another emotional moment in October that will make Tigers fans cheer, even if it makes his mom a bit embarrassed.
As one of the best pitchers this season, Skubal is expected to win the AL Cy Young Award. He will start Game 5 for Detroit on Saturday in a crucial match against the Cleveland Guardians. This matchup has been intense and is going to the final game.
“I don’t think anybody thought this wasn’t going to go five games,” said first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who will start Matthew Boyd before using his bullpen. “It’s the way our season’s been. It’s the way their season’s been.”
This will be Skubal’s second start in this series. He threw seven scoreless innings in Game 2, which the Tigers won 3-0 thanks to Kerry Carpenter’s three-run homer in the ninth inning against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.
During the fifth inning, after getting an inning-ending double play to keep the score tied, Skubal expressed his excitement by shouting a profanity at the Cleveland fans as he walked back to the Tigers’ dugout.
A national TV audience caught his reaction, as did those close to him. His mother, Laura, did not like his choice of words and shared her disappointment on social media. “Tarik Daniel!!” she wrote, using Skubal’s middle name to show he was in trouble.
This was not unusual for Skubal, who has struggled with his emotions as an athlete and is learning to express them in a better way. As for his mom, Skubal joked that she shouldn’t be too quick to judge.
“You should hear my mom when she was growing up,” he said with a smile. “That’s interesting she wants to make that comment. I’ve seen her get ejected from plenty of high school basketball games. So I guess it might run in the family a little bit there.”
Skubal mentioned that his dad has a similar personality. “Genetics,” he said with a shrug.
On Friday, MLB made a sudden decision about the game time for the Tigers and Guardians. They were worried about possible bad weather on Saturday night, so they changed the first pitch from 8:08 p.m. to 1:08 p.m.
While this seven-hour change forced fans to rearrange their plans, the players didn’t seem to mind moving from a night game to a day game. “We’ve had plenty of day games this year,” said Cleveland rookie reliever Cade Smith.
However, none of those games were as important as this one, as the Tigers and Guardians compete to advance to the ALCS, where they would face the New York Yankees. The Yankees eliminated the Kansas City Royals in four games on Thursday and await their next opponent from the AL Central.
Detroit’s journey to Game 5 has been surprising. On August 10, the Tigers were 55-63, bringing up younger players from the minors and looking like they were heading for a 10th consecutive postseason at home.
But they finished the regular season strong with a record of 31-13, swept Houston in the wild-card round, and are now tied with the AL Central champions.
Even though they couldn’t beat the Guardians at home, they will get another chance—perhaps without slugger Kerry Carpenter, who hurt his hamstring in Game 4—and this time with Skubal starting.
No pitcher in either league has performed at his level in 2024. The 27-year-old led the AL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, leaving hitters confused. The Tigers have a record of 23-10 when he pitches.
His success has continued into the postseason, as Skubal has not given up a run in 13 innings and has struck out 14 batters. He hasn’t lost a game since August 2, a stretch of 11 starts, and hasn’t allowed a run in his last 24 innings overall.
“He loves competition,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “He’s into it as much as anybody that I’ve ever put on the mound. Nobody better to give the ball to in this game than Tarik.”
