Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal won his 20th game of the season on Saturday, becoming the first American League pitcher to hit that mark since Justin Verlander in 2019. The Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 to clinch the AL Central title outright, sending Detroit to its second straight postseason appearance.
Skubal was dominant on the mound. He went eight innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out 11, and walked one. His fastball touched 99 miles per hour in the eighth inning, and his changeup was unhittable all night. His ERA now sits at 2.32, and his second straight Cy Young award is a foregone conclusion.
The Tigers were built around Skubal. Manager AJ Hinch has leaned on him as the anchor of a rotation that has surprised most of baseball this season. Behind Skubal, Detroit has gotten legitimate innings from Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and rookie Jackson Jobe, who returned from Tommy John surgery in June.
The offense has been the real surprise. Riley Greene has quietly become one of the best young hitters in the American League, batting .289 with 28 home runs. Kerry Carpenter has been the team’s most consistent hitter. And rookie Colt Keith has stabilized second base with a solid glove and reliable bat.
The Tigers made a huge trade at the deadline to acquire third baseman Alec Bohm from Philadelphia. Bohm has hit .312 in his time with Detroit and gives the Tigers a legitimate middle-of-the-order presence in October. The trade cost Detroit a couple of prospects, but it was the exact kind of go-for-it move that turns a good team into a real threat.
The AL Central was supposed to be a two-team race between Detroit and Cleveland. The Guardians led the division most of the summer, but a brutal August that saw Cleveland go 11-16 opened the door for the Tigers to sprint past them. Now the Guardians have to fight for a wild card spot.
Skubal has a real chance at the pitching triple crown. He leads the AL in wins with 20, ERA at 2.32, and strikeouts with 218. If he can hold off Boston’s Garrett Crochet and Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes over the final three weeks, he becomes the first American League pitcher to win the triple crown since Verlander in 2011.
The Tigers open the playoffs at home in early October. The AL is a mess of teams that could realistically win the pennant, and Detroit has a legitimate case as one of the top four contenders. Skubal in a three-start series is a nightmare matchup for anyone.
The Tigers have not won a World Series since 1984. That drought could realistically end this year. Skubal is the reason.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
