DETROIT — Tarik Skubal wasn’t having the talk of tipping pitches coming out of his start last week in Kansas City. Though the Royals roughed up the Tigers lefty for six hits and seven consecutive baserunners in a five-run fourth inning, he didn’t want to fall on the crutch that they might have known what’s coming.
“Obviously your brain wants to go there,” Skubal said the next day, “but I think that’s a cop-out. Usually, it’s a product of count leverage, getting ahead and pitch execution. … Can I get better at some things? For sure. I’m never going to make an excuse for myself. I expect myself to go out there and compete. It’s a progression.”
His solution Monday against the Giants was to barely allow any baserunners, let alone rallies. With two singles, no walks and nine strikeouts over a season-high five innings, the 5-1 win — Skubal’s first victory since July 21 of last year — was a huge step in the progression back from flexor tendon surgery.
“He was dominant. Period. That’s the quote,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “That’s as good as he’s been since coming back.”
The way Skubal threw, he might have been able to tell hitters what pitch was coming and still like his chances. Instead of obsessing over deception and the idea he could be tipping, he went back to his pitches and his command.
“I feel like I was on attack mode the whole game, felt like my command got better as the game went on,” Skubal said. “It was good to adjust from the last one into this one, for sure.”
Skubal worked to establish his fastball early, to no one’s surprise. He threw six fastballs in a seven-pitch at-bat against Austin Slater to open the game, culminating in a 97 mph heater at the bottom of the zone for a called third strike, then used sliders to set up J.D. Davis for another 97 mph fastball for a check-swing strikeout to end the frame. After Patrick Bailey fanned on a slider to lead off the second, Skubal went back to the fastball to strike out David Villar and end that inning.
“This is a team that controls the strike zone really well,” Skubal said of president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ former club. “You have to establish in the zone before you can get out of the zone. That’s the type of lineup that they have. For me, that was the goal.”
From there, Skubal mixed in the full arsenal, and he added. Rookie shortstop Casey Schmitt battled him for 10 pitches leading off the third inning, fouling off six before Skubal turned to his curveball — a pitch he uses mainly to steal first-pitch strikes — to finally finish him off. Skubal went back to curve for a swing-and-miss second strike when Schmitt came back up in the fifth, but still needed nine pitches — including four consecutive foul balls. Skubal reared back for one more 97 mph fastball to finish the at-bat and his outing.
“Those are momentum shifters,” Skubal said. “If he wins the first at-bat, not saying it’s a different game, but I’m a little bit more fatigued. You’re throwing longer innings. To get those outs was good. I thought my pitch execution was pretty solid in those at-bats. He fouled some really good ones. It was a good challenge.”
Neither of those at-bats reached a full count. For that matter, he had only one three-ball count for his outing, a strong feat against a team that doesn’t normally chase.
Skubal’s nine strikeouts included the leadoff batter in four of his five innings. He ended three of his five innings with strikeouts as well. His two singles were ground balls, one of which didn’t leave the infield.
Skubal’s 38 fastballs drew five swings and misses and eight called strikes. The only one put in play had a 55 mph exit velocity that seemed more fitting for the commute home. His 20 sliders drew four more whiffs, but his changeup — a pitch he used a little more than usual — was surprisingly effective with four called strikes.
It was an ace-like performance, which could portend to the role he fills down the stretch if the Tigers trade Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Lorenzen. That’s out of Skubal’s hands, just like his slowly progressing pitch count coming back from surgery, but how he responded to the Kansas City struggles and the tipping fears wasn’t. The response was impressive.