CHICAGO — On the third pitch of Tarik Skubal’s major-league career, his head whipped around as the baseball screamed off Tim Anderson’s bat. That was how it all started, a 422-foot home run crashing into empty seats during the bizarro 2020 season.
Skubal pitched only two innings that day. The Detroit Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox 10-4. Skubal experienced all the nerves and emotions that come with a debut. But parts of the venture left him wanting.
“It’s kind of full circle,” Skubal said Thursday evening at Guaranteed Rate Field, “because I debuted in front of no fans, so to come back and be able to start Opening Day, it makes up for it in a way.”
Less than four years after the odd debut of a funky left-hander with a funny name, Skubal entered this Opening Day riding a lightning bolt, coming off his dominant second half in 2023 and increasingly hearing his name in national conversations. The nerves of his first career Opening Day start, Skubal said, did not hit until he was walking into the White Sox’s home stadium. Hours later, a new season began with a ball missed high and outside to Andrew Benintendi. Six pitches after that, Skubal had Benintendi chasing a slider down and away, punching his first strikeout of 2024. Soon, Skubal was mowing down White Sox hitters, leaning on his powerful fastball and pulling strings on his vexing changeup. Skubal surrendered three hits over six innings, all singles, and retired his final eight batters. Dating to last season, Skubal has surrendered only three earned runs in his past 36 innings.
Thursday’s performance brought to mind what catcher Jake Rogers said only a few days ago, as the Tigers were about to depart from their spring training compound and dive into the real thing. What is the best part of catching Skubal?
“Aside from cruise control?” Rogers answered.
Tarik Skubal with an exceptional first outing for the Tigers to start the 2024 season.
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K, 40.8% miss rate, 39.5% chase rate
Check out all his Ks below👇 pic.twitter.com/1OJLsmRUUy
— Inside Edge (@IE_MLB) March 28, 2024
Any early hitches in Skubal’s game — his slider didn’t bite with total consistency and he didn’t locate his two-seams where he wanted — faded as Skubal’s outing reached the game’s middle innings. There is a palpable confidence Skubal exudes when he’s in the zone, the look and feel of a pitcher in total control.
“He wasn’t really spinning the ball too much early, but the changeup started to come a little bit, the power on his fastball started to come,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “And then you see the head nod and you see his mojo, moxie, come out.”
The Tigers went on to win 1-0 Thursday, scoring their lone run when Andy Ibáñez hit a sacrifice fly to score Javier Báez. While Skubal was sterling through an 83-pitch outing that featured six strikeouts, Báez provided the day’s most compelling subplot. Playing his old rivals on Chicago’s South Side, Báez caught a pop fly to end the second inning, and rather than toss the ball over the netting to the visiting crowd, Báez fired the ball hard into the left-field net. He led off the third inning at the plate, greeted by massive boos. Then Báez promptly laced a single up the middle, dropping his bat and pointing on the way to first. In an instant, Báez was running, stealing second base and getting an extra 90 feet that proved crucial. After he touched home later in the inning, more boos rained down.
At his locker after the game, Báez spoke of his longstanding theatrics with the South Side fans. “When you get booed,” he said, “you don’t want to suck because they’re gonna do it louder.” The most insightful parts of Báez’s interview, however, came when he was speaking on Skubal.
“I think he can win a Cy Young if he’s got a good plan, which we do,” Báez said. “I think if he controls the 0-2 and the two strikes he’s gonna be really, really, really good.”
Báez validated the high expectations that now surround Skubal while also making an interesting point. Dominant as Skubal was, there was the potential for an ever more impressive final line. On four occasions, Skubal got ahead 0-2 but did not record a strikeout.
Not that the 0-2 lapses mattered. Skubal still made it difficult for White Sox hitters to do any damage. He induced 20 whiffs and held opposing batters to an average exit velocity of only 81.5 mph.
“Tarik was completely dominant,” Hinch said.
After the game, Báez was talking about who Skubal reminds him of, and he gave an interesting answer.
“With the angle that he pitches and how big he is, a little bit of (Aroldis) Chapman,” Báez said. Both are big-bodied left-handers with an over-the-top delivery and bits of deception.
The Chapman comparison speaks to how good Skubal has become, a dominant lefty with the stuff of a back-end reliever but the stamina of a starter.
Even on that night of his debut, the lofty comparisons were there. Former Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire had compared Skubal to Tom Seaver.
“I’ve been wrong about a lot of things,” Gardenhire said then. “I don’t think I’m gonna be wrong about this guy.”
Here we are now, witnessing Skubal blossom into one of the game’s very best pitchers, watching as milestone moments in his career come full circle.
“He’s one of a kind,” Báez said.
(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
