Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was perfect through five innings at Comerica Park on May 9 against the Texas Rangers, and then repeated that performance on Sunday, May 25, with another five perfect innings to kick off his start against the Cleveland Guardians.
Pitchers as good as Skubal have a habit of making perfection routine. But this start reached a new frontier for the defending American League Cy Young Award winner.
Skubal treated the home crowd to another gem, pitching his first career complete-game shutout as the Tigers beat the Guardians 5-0 on Sunday at Comerica Park. Along with his first career shutout, Skubal also recorded a "Maddux," or a complete game shutout with fewer than 100 pitches thrown.
The last Tigers pitcher to reach that mark was Keider Montero in 2024, who did so against the Rockies on Sept. 10. Before that, you have to go back to June 12, 2015, with David Price shutting out Cleveland on 93 pitches. In all, it was just the fifth Maddux by a Tigers pitcher at Comerica Park.
Skubal allowed his first baserunner via a double from Guardians third baseman Will Wilson to lead off the sixth inning. He tied his career high with 13 strikeouts.
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Skubal was both effective and efficient in the early innings, recording 36 pitches through his first four innings, averaging nine per frame. He had 72 through seven, keeping him on pace for the Maddux.
Skubal recorded another feat during his most recent outing, becoming the first pitcher in Tigers history to record double-digit strikeouts in four consecutive home starts.
The Tigers batters were fairly punchless early in the game, save for a fourth inning that gave their starter all the support he needed.
Offense breaks out in the fourth
The fourth began with an infield single from Justyn-Henry Malloy. Two batters later, Zach McKinstry tattooed a 77 mph slider that sailed into the right-field seats, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead. The homer was McKinstry's third of the season.
Doubles by both Javier Báez and Gleyber Torres later in the inning added a third run, while an RBI single from Andy Ibáñez added a fourth. The inning looked like it would end on a Riley Green dribbler back to the pitcher, but Guardians starter Logan Allen yanked the throw to first base, allowing Ibáñez to score and make it 5-0.
The long inning gave Skubal plenty of time to rest (and think), but he looked just as sharp in the top of the fifth, setting down the side without much stress.
Skubal throws 102 in the seventh
Skubal kept it steady to start the game, sitting in the mid-to-high 90s with his sinking fastball.
He got faster as the game went on, however:
1-0-2 mph ⛽️
From Tarik Skubal. pic.twitter.com/5ue4cimAIo
Skubal launched a 101.7 mph fastball to strike out Guardians first baseman Kyle Manzardo to end the seventh inning. And that wasn't even his fastest pitch of the game.
That was the final one, which got a swinging strikeout from shortstop Gabrial Arias. On that pitch, Skubal hit 102.6.
Skubal's fastball velocity has averaged 97.7 mph this season, which puts him in the 94th percentile of all MLB pitchers according to Baseball Savant. But he has also shown a willingness to hit triple digits at any point in a game when needed.
He probably didn't need to reach those heights to get the win on Sunday, but he did, anyway.
You can reach Christian at[email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal dominates Cleveland Guardians in two-hit shutout
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