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Tigers' Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene share 'the coolest part' of playing in All-Star Game
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- Tigers' Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene share 'the coolest part' of playing in All-Star Game
CLEVELAND — Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal and outfielder Riley Greene played in the first All-Star Game of their careers July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas , but to their surprise, they weren't nervous and didn't feel any adrenaline.
Skubal, 27, retired three batters in a row in a 10-pitch scoreless second inning ; Greene, 23, went 0-for-2 with one strikeout and made a sliding catch in left field.
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The American League beat the National League, 5-3 , in front of 39,343 fans in the 94th Midsummer Classic.
"It wasn't like a normal game," Skubal said. "It was weird. I wasn't nervous. I get nervous when I pitch, too. I think nerves are good when you use them in the right way. It means you care. I get nervous on days I pitch, even spring training games, but I knew to just go play, have fun and enjoy it, and I think I did. I just had fun. It wasn't like a nervous thing for me, which was way different from what I'm used to."
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Josh Naylor of the Cleveland Guardians, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, Cole Ragans of the Kansas City Royals and Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers look on prior to the 94th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Globe Life Field on July 16, 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
Both players were proud to represent the Tigers on the field in the All-Star Game, but behind the scenes, they created valuable memories they'll carry for the rest of their careers.
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The coolest moment from the entire experience occurred before the All-Star Game, when a few players — including Skubal and Greene — sat in a circle in the AL clubhouse.
The guys were just telling stories.
"Being in the clubhouse with the guys and talking about just whatever got brought up," Skubal said. "I think that's probably the coolest part, having those conversations about baseball stuff. Everyone was pretty open on trying to get everybody better. That stuff was really beneficial."
Greene, an up-and-coming superstar, said he enjoyed talking to New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa .
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"Good dudes," Greene said.
Skubal elaborated on what the players in the AL clubhouse circle talked about. There were conversations about what pitchers and hitters should do to best perform against specific other players, along with advice on the mental side of the game.
"It was really cool," Skubal said.
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Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the second inning during the 94th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Globe Life Field on July 16, 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
The red carpet event, which took place in the heat of Texas — it was 100 degrees outside of the indoors Globe Life Field — was another highlight for Skubal and Greene because they put their personal lives on display in the hours leading up to the All-Star Game.
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Skubal, who wore a purple suit, black shirt and white shoes, walked the red carpet with his wife, Jessica, and his son, Kasen; Greene, who wore a black suit, white shirt and black shoes, walked the red carpet with his mother, Lisa, and his father, Alan.
"My parents walked it with me," Greene said. "I had a great time, but I think they had a better time. They were smiles from ear to ear, and we were loving it."
Both Skubal and Greene wore Cartier sunglasses and Shinola Detroit watches on the red carpet.
There's a backstory to those items: Skubal purchased Cartier sunglasses for Greene, a fellow first-time All-Star, so they could match shades, then Greene returned the favor by purchasing his exact Shinola Detroit watch for Skubal so they could match timepieces.
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"I was going to buy myself a pair," Skubal said, "and I was going through the website, and I was like, 'I should get Greeney a pair, too.' There was this pair that had green sunglasses. I didn't even think about it, but he made a play for me about a month ago diving and broke his sunglasses. I told him I'd get him a new pair. It's kind of perfect the way it all worked out."
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Skubal — the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young award — showed his swag on the red carpet with his family, then he showed his stuff in the All-Star Game. He needed just 10 pitches to take down all three NL batters in the second inning: Christian Yelich grounded out, Alec Bohm flew out and Teoscar Hernández flew out.
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The Fox broadcasters, including play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis, tried to ask Skubal questions through an earpiece while he pitched to those three batters. Skubal didn't respond to them because he couldn't hear them.
"It was just static," Skubal said. "It was so loud."
Skubal pitched with Adley Rutschman as his catcher. Meanwhile, Judge in center fielder, Juan Soto in right field and Gunnar Henderson at shortstop completed the three outs in the perfect second inning.
"That's pretty cool to have those guys make plays behind you," Skubal said.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene, Tarik Skubal on All-Star Game experience
