Skubal didn't factor into the decision in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Mariners on Friday, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out 13 batters across six innings. He did not issue a walk.
Outside of a second-inning double from Josh Naylor, which later resulted in a run, the Mariners were helpless to get any sort of offense going against Skubal. By striking out 13 batters Friday, the 28-year-old lefty tied the MLB record for most punchouts with no walks in a postseason game, and he became the first pitcher in MLB history to record multiple 13-strikeout performances in the same postseason. The Tigers were unable to come away with the win after 15 innings, however, so Skubal will now shift his focus to next season and is likely to repeat as one of the top fantasy performers in the sport in 2026.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Strikes out nine in no-decision
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Skubal permitted two runs on five hits and one walk over seven innings in a no-decision Sunday in Seattle. He struck out nine.
Jorge Polanco proved to be Skubal's kryptonite, taking the left-hander deep with solo home runs in the fourth and sixth innings. The Mariners didn't get anything going off Skubal aside from Polanco's exploits, and the southpaw was handed a no-decision after the Tigers rallied to tie the game in the top of the eighth. Skubal has given up a total of three runs while fanning 23 batters over 14.2 frames in his two starts this postseason. He's lined up to start Game 5 of the ALDS, if the series goes the distance.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Fans 14 in Game 1 masterpiece
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Skubal yielded only one run on three hits and three walks while striking out 14 over 7.2 innings to pick up the win in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Guardians.
The Guardians managed to scratch together a run in the bottom of the fourth inning despite not hitting the ball out of the infield, and Skubal also walked the light-hitting Austin Hedges twice. He was otherwise in complete control, regularly topping 100 mph with his fastball and inducing 26 swinging strikes on 107 pitches. The left-hander's 14 strikeouts tied a Tigers postseason record. If the Tigers advance to the ALDS to play the Mariners, Skubal would likely start Game 2 on Sunday.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Not starting regular-season finale
Rotowire
Skubal will no longer start Sunday's regular-season finale against Boston, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Skubal will get a breather after Detroit secured a playoff berth with a 2-1 win over the Red Sox on Sunday. Chris Paddack will now take the mound in Game 162 for the Tigers, allowing the team to save Skubal for the playoffs. Skubal will finish his 2025 campaign with a sparkling 2.21 ERA and 0.89 WHIP while compiling 241 strikeouts over 195.1 innings in 31 starts.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Fans eight in loss
Rotowire
Skubal (13-6) allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks over six innings Tuesday, striking out eight and taking a loss against Cleveland.
Skubal rolled through five shutout frames before things unraveled in the sixth inning. The Guardians tallied just two infield singles, but an error and several other mistakes -- including a wild pitch and a balk -- allowed three runs to cross home. Still, Skubal delivered his sixth quality start in his last seven appearances. During that stretch, he's produced a 1.80 ERA with a 54:12 K:BB through 50 innings. For the year, the superstar southpaw owns a 2.21 ERA and a 241:33 K:BB across 195.1 innings. Skubal may start this weekend in Boston if necessary; if the Tigers have already secured a playoff spot by that point, they may elect to save him for the postseason.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Listed as Thursday's starter
Rotowire
Skubal (side) is listed as the Tigers' scheduled starter for Thursday's game against the Guardians, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Skubal had to be removed from his last start against the Marlins with left side tightness, but imaging came back clean. According to manager A.J. Hinch, Skubal threw his normal between-starts bullpen session Monday without issue, MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM reports. The Tigers will undoubtedly keep a close eye on their ace, but Skubal's fantasy managers can lock the southpaw into their lineup.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Imaging comes back clean
Rotowire
Imaging on Skubal's left side came back negative Saturday after he was removed in the fourth inning of Friday's 8-2 loss to the Marlins, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Manager A.J. Hinch said the team will continue to keep an eye on Skubal's side over the next several days, but the expectation is that he will be able to make his next start, which is expected to fall Thursday versus the Guardians. Before exiting Friday's outing with side tightness, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner endured one of his worst starts of the campaign, giving up four earned runs on four hits -- including two home runs -- while matching a season low with two strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Exits with trainer
Rotowire
Skubal was removed from his start Friday against the Marlins with left side tightness, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Skubal had given up three earned runs on four hits and logged two strikeouts in 3.1 innings before calling a trainer out to the mound in the fourth. He's due to undergo imaging Saturday to determine the severity of his injury, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, at which point the team will have a better idea of his availability for his next start -- tentatively scheduled to come against Cleveland on Thursday.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Fades late in loss
Rotowire
Skubal (11-4) allowed six runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out 12 without walking a batter over 6.2 innings to take the loss versus the Athletics on Monday.
Skubal didn't give up a run until the sixth inning, when he allowed one on a Jacob Wilson groundout. He stayed in to begin the seventh, and that proved to be a mistake, as Colby Thomas hit a solo shot and Shea Langeliers added a grand slam, although most of the damage to his ERA was mitigated by a Zach McKinstry error. This is just the fourth time all year that Skubal's given up multiple homers, though two of them have come in August. He's allowed 16 runs (11 earned) across 32.1 innings through five starts this month, which is an unusual stretch of middling performance for the dominant southpaw. On the bright side, he reached a double-digit total in strikeouts for the 10th time in 26 starts. Skubal still has a 2.28 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 212:25 K:BB through 166 innings this season. He'll look to bounce back this weekend in a road start versus the Royals.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Rebounds with quality start
Rotowire
Skubal allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three over seven innings in a no-decision versus the Twins on Thursday.
Skubal was chased in the fifth inning of his previous outing, but he was able to bounce back with a quality start this time around. However, the three strikeouts were his second fewest in a game this year, better than only his Opening Day performance against the Dodgers. He's also allowed at least three runs in four of his last six starts -- while not terrible in that stretch, we've seen him be more dominant for long stretches in the last couple of years. Overall, Skubal has a 2.42 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 190:23 K:BB through 152.1 innings over 24 starts this season. His next outing is projected to be at home versus the Astros.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Strikes out 10 in win
Rotowire
Skubal (11-3) earned the win against the Phillies on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts over seven innings.
Skubal outdueled fellow ace Zack Wheeler, spinning six scoreless frames before allowing three runs in the seventh. He generated 20 whiffs on 98 pitches and has now notched double-digit strikeouts eight times this season. The southpaw leads all qualified starters with a 0.83 WHIP and paces the American League with a 2.18 ERA and 181 strikeouts over 140.2 innings. He lines up to face the Angels at home next weekend.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Blanks Blue Jays in no-decision
Rotowire
Skubal didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-1 loss to Toronto, allowing five hits and three walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
The left-hander made a dominant return from the paternity list and ran into trouble only in the sixth inning, when he was able to escape a bases-loaded jam in part due to a heads-up defensive play by Matt Vierling in center field. It was Skubal's 13th quality start of the season, but he's gone four straight outings without collecting a win despite a 1.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 33:5 K:BB in 24.2 innings over that stretch. He'll look to get back in the win column in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Philadelphia.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Activated ahead of start Saturday
Rotowire
The Tigers activated Skubal from the paternity list and deemed him the starter for Saturday's matchup versus Toronto.
Skubal was placed on the paternity list Wednesday, but he was never expected to miss a start. That will indeed be the case, as the All-Star southpaw is slated to take the mound against the Blue Jays on Saturday. The Tigers made a few other moves impacting their pitching staff, signing reliever Luke Jackson and adding him to the 26-man roster while optioning Keider Montero and designating Geoff Hartlieb for assignment.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Hit hard in uncharacteristic loss
Rotowire
Skubal (10-3) took the loss Friday, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings in the 12-3 defeat to the Mariners.
Skubal kept the Mariners in check early but ran into trouble in the fifth, surrendering a two-run homer to Julio Rodriguez as part of a three-run frame that ended his day. It marked the ace's shortest outing since April 20 and just the fourth time all season he's allowed more than three earned runs. Despite the setback, the left-hander still owns a stellar 2.23 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 153 strikeouts through 121 innings this season.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Shuts down Twins
Rotowire
Skubal (10-2) allowed a hit and a walk while striking out 13 over seven shutout innings to earn the win Sunday over the Twins.
Skubal had one of his best starts of the year -- this was second only to his two-hit shutout versus the Guardians on May 25. He also matched his season-high 13 strikeouts from that outing. Skubal has kept runs off the board in seven of his 17 starts this season, and he went a perfect 5-0 with seven runs allowed over 33.1 innings in June. For the season, he has a 2.15 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 138:14 K:BB across 109 innings, numbers even better than his Cy Young campaign from 2024. The superstar southpaw is lined up for a road start in Cleveland in his next outing.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Overcomes shaky start for win
Rotowire
Skubal (9-2) picked up the win Tuesday, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk over six innings in an 11-4 victory over the A's. He struck out eight.
For the second straight trip to the mound, Skubal had his routine disrupted by a pregame rain delay, and the left-handed ace served up two-run homers to Brent Rooker in the first inning and Denzel Clarke in the second -- the first long balls he's coughed up since May 20. Skubal found his focus after that, breezing through the next four frames before exiting after 97 pitches (65 strikes). The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner hasn't been tagged for a loss since April 2, a streak he'll look to keep intact in his next outing, which is lined up to come at home this weekend against the Twins.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Sparkles in victory
Rotowire
Skubal (7-2) worked seven shutout frames, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out six to pick up the win during Thursday's 4-1 win over the Orioles.
Skubal has been as dominant as a pitcher can be lately, and that continued Thursday night after seven more shutout innings. The Tigers ace has surrendered just one run over his last four starts, all lasting seven innings or more. The 28-year-old did walk a batter for the first time since May 20, but that doesn't detract from his 0.29 ERA, 0.55 WHIP and 32 strikeouts over 30.2 frames in his past four outings. Skubal lines up for a favorable matchup versus the Pirates in his next start.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Strikes out six in win
Rotowire
Skubal (6-2) earned the win against the Cubs on Friday, allowing one run on eight hits and no walks with six strikeouts over 7.2 innings.
Skubal carried a 21-inning scoreless streak into the sixth before surrendering an RBI double to Kyle Tucker. The lefty ace threw 64 of 95 pitches for strikes and generated 12 whiffs, completing at least seven innings for the third straight start. On the season, he sports a 2.16 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and an outstanding 105:7 K:BB across 83.1 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in a road matchup with the Orioles next week.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Falls short of quality start
Rotowire
Skubal allowed three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight in 5.2 innings Tuesday against the Cardinals. He did not factor into the decision.
Skubal blanked the Cardinals through four innings while allowing just a single. Nolan Arenado took him deep in the fifth for a two-run homer and Skubal's day would end one out short of a quality start after another run came across in the sixth to make it a 4-3 ballgame. With eight more strikeouts Tuesday, Skubal leads the American League with 79 and his 1.06 BB/9 is the second best in baseball. He's set to take the mound again to open up next week at home versus San Francisco.
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Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Fans 11, but yields five runs
Rotowire
Skubal allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out 11 over 6.1 innings, but he did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Red Sox.
Skubal limited the Red Sox to two runs through the first six innings and looked to be on his way to earning his sixth quality start of the season. He was brought back for the seventh frame, but he was lifted after allowing three consecutive baserunners and was tagged for three more runs. Skubal still managed generate 21 whiffs on 95 pitches (67 strikes) and tallied double-digit strikeouts for the third time in his last four outings. The 28-year-old southpaw is in line to face the Cardinals on the road next week.
