The Detroit Tigers needed a dominant effort in order to win Game 1 of their series against the Cleveland Guardians. Luckily for them, Tarik Skubal answered the call in resounding fashion. The AL Cy Young favorite pitched 7.2 innings, striking out 14 batters en route to a 2-1 win. He fought Guardians ace Gavin Williams in a pitcher's duel, coming through for AJ Hinch in the end.
Skubal had fans in Detroit ecstatic after the win, breaking a slump that has bothered the team for weeks. The Tigers nearly gave their playoff spot away with a string of losses in the final stretch of the regular seaosn. However, Skubal and Hinch led the team to the sixth seed in the AL playoff picture, setting up a divisional matchup against the Guardians to kick off their playoff run.
Skubal is one of the few modern pitchers who relies heavily on his fastball. According to Major League Baseball statistician Sarah Langs, the All-Star took that pitch to another level on Tuesday.
“Tarik Skubal’s fastest postseason pitches, career: 101.2 mph (strikeout). 101.0 mph, 100.4 mph (strikeout), 100.4 mph, 100.3 mph, 100.3 mph, 100.2 mph (strikeout), 100.2 mph, 100.2 mph, 100.1 mph, 100.0 mph. All today,” Langs said.
Williams has been a dominant pitcher in the second half of the season for Cleveland. However, he ran into an unstoppable force in Skubal in Game 1. The Tigers' ace suffered an injury scare late in the season, introducing some doubt when it came to their playoff expectations. He put those concerns to bed immediately in one of the best playoff starts in recent MLB history.
After a road win to go ahead 1-0 in the series, Detroit is one win away from an ALDS matchup against the Seattle Mariners. Hinch will not have Skubal available for the rest of the series. However, the ace got things started in dominant fashion. Now, it is up to the rest of the Tigers to keep the momentum going.
