When the Detroit Tigers traded away Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, they had a former top prospect waiting in the wings.
Jackson Jobe missed most of last season and more than half of this one after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The right-hander dazzled in his return last weekend and will make his second start of the season on Friday against the visiting Chicago White Sox.
A sweep of the series by the Tigers would move them into first place in the American League Central.
Jobe held the San Francisco Giants to one hit in five scoreless innings and earned the 8-0 win last Saturday. He walked one and struck out four while collecting his first victory since May 18 of last season.
“Obviously we just lost two starters and we knew we were getting him back,” catcher Dillon Dingler said. “We’re just going to try to keep him where he’s at right now. He’s going to be a huge part for our team down the stretch. We’re really looking forward to what he can bring.”
Jobe can bring the serious heat. His fastest pitch of the night was 101.6 mph, and he averaged 98.3 mph on his four-seam fastball. He relied on that pitch, with his fastball being delivered nearly 41% of the time against the Giants. He also mixed in sliders, sinkers, curveballs and changeups after building up his arm strength with five rehab starts.
“It was a big step to get him back to this level, and he had electric stuff,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It was almost a perfect outing when it comes to what we were trying to accomplish — five zeros and getting his pitch count into the 70s.”
Jobe has two career appearances against the White Sox (one start). He has a 2.25 ERA, giving up three runs (two earned) in eight innings
Erick Fedde was expected to be Jobe’s mound opponent. That changed when fellow right-hander Davis Martin hit Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart in the helmet with the third pitch of the third inning on Thursday.
The benches cleared and Martin was ejected, pressing Fedde into action a day earlier. Stewart stayed in the game.
Fedde pitched three innings for the White Sox, who will turn to left-hander Sean Newcomb (1-3, 2.66) to make his second start and 45th appearance of the season on Friday.
“There’s no intention there,” Martin said of the ejection. “Guys came back and picked me up after the first inning, we are up 4-3. And that’s the last thing I’m trying to do is trying to start something there. Just wanted a quick shutdown inning to get our offense back in there.”
Newcomb has a 1.35 ERA without a decision in six career appearances (one start) versus Detroit, including striking out seven batters in 5 2/3 hitless innings in two games (one start) in 2026.
He retired the first nine Tigers of the game in his June 20 stint as an opener in Detroit. The Tigers scored all of their runs off the bullpen in a 4-1 win.
The White Sox, who went 3-3 on their homestand, trailed 9-5 in the eighth inning but their rally came up one run short. That left them 2 1/2 games ahead in the of the surging second-place Tigers, who have won nine of their last 12 games. Prior to that stretch, Detroit had lost four of five games.
The two teams have split six games in the season series, with both winning three at home.
Detroit won just six games in May and still was struggling enough to convince the front office to sell at the trade deadline on Aug. 3.
“It’s been a steep climb and we’re not at the peak of the mountain yet,” Hinch said. “We take a lot of pride in what we’re doing, and it is my job to get them to reset. But we are loving every minute of this. To be playing competitive baseball and the brand of baseball we’re playing, we’ve injected some youth and our fans are way into it. I know we’ve taken them on a little bit of a journey this season, but we have a chance.”
–Field Level Media
