Tarik Skubal gave the Tigers a huge scare in his most recent start. The Cleveland Guardians are now giving Detroit a big scare, and the Tigers need their ace to deliver.
Skubal departed his start against the Miami Marlins on Friday after 3 1/3 innings when he experienced tightness in his left side.
An MRI eased concerns over Skubal’s condition, and a bullpen session on Monday convinced the Tigers and their ace that he was good to go for the finale of a three-game series against the visiting Guardians on Thursday afternoon.
“Everything felt good,” Skubal said of the bullpen session. “Just one of those weird things. I don’t really know how to explain it. But the bullpen went well, the scans came back good, so it’s on to the next one.”
Skubal (13-5, 2.26 ERA) wanted to make sure he could pitch at his usual level, so his bullpen work was serious business.
“If anything, I probably worked a little harder just to make sure I was good to go. There was nothing there,” he said.
The Guardians (80-71) have won the first two contests of the series to pull within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Tigers (85-67) in the American League Central. Cleveland is riding a six-game winning streak.
Skubal delivered the first shutout of his career against the Guardians on May 25, an overwhelming performance in which he struck out 13 while allowing two hits and no walks. He followed that up by throwing seven shutout innings of three-hit ball, fanning 10 and walking none, in a no-decision at Cleveland on July 6.
The left-hander is 3-2 with a 2.50 ERA in 10 career outings against the Guardians.
Tanner Bibee (10-11, 4.44) will start the series finale for Cleveland. The right-hander is coming off his first career shutout, a 4-0 decision over the Chicago White Sox on Friday. He yielded two hits and didn’t issue a walk while racking up a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts.
“Tanner is our guy, and he hasn’t had the year he’s wanted to,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “To put together a start like that at a time when we absolutely needed it … it was a huge night for him and a huge night for us.”
Bibee signed a five-year, $48 million contract extension prior to the season. He had a 6.15 ERA in July and August but has bounced back with two strong September outings.
“I think when you are an ace of a staff and you are really proven, you get a nice extension, the league takes you very, very seriously,” catcher Austin Hedges said. “And the league starts really, really game-planning hard for you, so you then have to make an adjustment.
“Every good pitcher is constantly making adjustments. So this year, Tanner’s had to — for the first time, probably, in his career — learn how to make those adjustments when the league adjusts to him. What we’ve seen as of late is him punching back.”
Bibee has a 2-3 record and 4.30 ERA in seven career starts against the Tigers. He tossed seven shutout innings against them the last time he faced them, on May 22 in Detroit. Bibee fanned eight in that contest while permitting three hits and one walk.
The Tigers appeared to have the division wrapped up when they held a 9 1/2-game lead after the games of Sept. 10, but the Guardians refuse to go away. Cleveland used six pitchers to record a 4-0 shutout in Detroit on Wednesday.
“It just shows the resilience of this group all year,” Vogt said.
–Field Level Media
