The Detroit Tigers won a 3-2 nailbiter against the New York Yankees on Sunday at the Little League Classic thanks to another dominant outing from their ace, Tarik Skubal. The left-hander is enjoying a career season and remains in the mix for the American League Cy Young.
Following the start, Skubal revealed that one of his goals in 2024 is to hit the 200-inning mark, which he sees as an important number due to the plethora of top-end starters around the big leagues who also throw that many innings per campaign.
Via Jon Morosi:
“I don’t necessarily have a number, but a lot of the horses around the league throw around 200. That’s something, as a starting pitcher, you’re going to take a lot of pride in. If I can get to that number, that would be great.”
Skubal tossed six frames in Williamsport, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five. He did a very good job of limiting a powerful Yankees lineup.
Tigers' AJ Hinch speaks on Skubal's workload
It's no secret the Tigers aren't going to make the playoffs. While their 61-64 record is much better than in past years, Detroit is 8.5 games out in the Wild Card race. That means the organization needs to be smart with their top guys, including Skubal, whose never thrown more than 149.1 innings in a season. The southpaw sits at 155.1 and counting.
Skipper AJ Hinch said postgame Sunday that he likely won't pitch on a normal five days' rest again this year just to be cautious:
“It’s important for us to be very aware, which we are, and it’s also important for us to watch what he’s doing,” Hinch said. “He’s a guy who works tremendously hard. He’s put himself in a really good position. He’s in an incredible routine. He has stuck to it . . . It’s not something we really want in the back of his head. We’re controlling the things we can control.
He continues to go out and dominate, continues to put in good effort between starts. We’re giving him extra rest . . . But he’s done the work. You’ve got to reward players when they’ve done the work with giving them a chance to compete.”
To be honest, even if the Tigers were in the playoff race, the ball club would likely still monitor his rest in between outings. After all, Skubal is such an important piece in Detroit and will hopefully be around for years to come.
In 2023, the 27-year-old posted a 2.80 ERA in 15 starts, but '24 has officially been his coming-out party. The former Seattle University standout is 14-4 with an MLB-best 2.49 ERA in 25 appearances. He's struck out 185 hitters, which leads the American League. Skubal was also named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
The Tigers are dealing with quite a few injuries in their rotation right now but that doesn't necessarily mean Skubal is going to keep pitching every fifth day, as Hinch alluded to. Detroit needs to preserve the health of its prized possession. It's likely the best approach.
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