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Tigers ace Tarik Skubal had a game of a lifetime in his latest start. The reigning American League Cy Young awardee recorded his first complete game in the majors to shut down the Guardians in the final game of their four-game series Sunday afternoon.
After his historic feat, Skubal made his feelings known in an instagram post. The video featured the lefty hurling the last strike of the 5-0 shutdown to Guardians second baseman Gabriel Arias.
"One of them ones" - Tarik Skubal
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Skubal's Instagram video snippet saw him throw the fastest strikeout pitch by a starting pitcher since tracking began in 2008. It was also the fastest pitch in MLB history by a starter in the ninth inning (or later) — surpassing Tigers legend Justin Verlander's 101.3 miles per hour set in June 2009.
With the ace's dominant performance, the Tigers avoided getting swept at home in a four-game set. Skubal pitched a "Maddux," recording a complete game shutout with less than 100 pitches thrown (94) and fanning 13 Guardians hitters.
Skubal's next start is scheduled against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, May 31.
Tarik Skubal's eye-popping 2025 stats
Heading into the 2024 season, not many fans and analysts predicted the Tigers starter Tarik Skubal will dominate — let alone win a Cy Young. However, that's what happened and the 28-year-old has continued where he left off to start this year.
In 11 starts, Skubal has compiled a 2.49 ERA with a 0.84, 92 strikeouts, and a 5-2 record. Last season, the Tigers ace averaged 96.9 miles per hour on his fastball. This year, Skubal has turned it up a notch, clocking at 97.7 MPH. The induced vertical break also increased from 16.2 inches to 17.6, making his fireball harder to hit.
Tarik Skubal's unhittable stuff has drawn the highest whiff rate on four-seamers this year at 32.9% — ahead of Hunter Brown at 32.3% and Zack Wheeler at 31.5%. With that being said, one might think that the AL Cy Young winner's favored pitch is the four-seamer. However, that isn't the case at all, as he's thrown 316 changeups this year against 289 four-seamers.
The lefty ace has also been deep in his bag of pitches having thrown 232 sinkers, 130 sliders, and a seldomly used 18 knuckle curves. Per Baseball Savant, Skubal's pitching run value and offspeed run value are pegged at a staggering 100th percentile. In terms of fastball run value, the ace has also posted an impressive 98th percentile inclusion.
