Story by
Tigers' Tarik Skubal 'wanted to start' All-Star Game, but instead dominates as reliever
- Story by
- Tigers' Tarik Skubal 'wanted to start' All-Star Game, but instead dominates as reliever
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal wanted to start for the American League in the 2024 All-Star Game.
Skubal — the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award — wasn't chosen by AL manager Bruce Bochy to be the starting pitcher , but the 27-year-old came out of the bullpen and completed an efficient second inning in the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Advertisement
"Obviously, I wanted to start the game," Skubal told USA TODAY Sports' Gabe Lacques in the AL clubhouse before Tuesday's game. "I think that'd be a ton of fun and a great honor, but I don't make that decision, and that's that."
MORE ABOUT HIM: How Tigers' Tarik Skubal matured into an Opening Day ace with Cy Young potential
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.
Instead of Skubal, Baltimore Orioles right-hander Corbin Burnes received the start from Bochy .
Burnes, a four-time All-Star starting for the first time, walked Shohei Ohtani with one out and gave up a double to Bryce Harper with two outs, but he stranded two runners in scoring position in the first inning on a weak groundout in a full count.
Advertisement
After that, all eyes focused on Skubal in the second inning.
Skubal needed just 10 pitches — throwing seven strikes — in a perfect second inning, retiring all three batters: Christian Yelich grounded out to shortstop on a sixth-pitch slider, Alec Bohm flew out to center field on a first-pitch fastball, and Teoscar Hernández flew out to right field on a third-pitch fastball.
"What do I gotta throw to miss a barrel?" Skubal said to Bohm, following Bohm's hard-hit flyout.
The Fox broadcasters tried to ask Skubal questions through an earpiece while he faced Yelich and Bohm, but Skubal couldn't hear them, and then when he could hear them, play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis asked Skubal if he watched the Home Run Derby while he faced Hernández, but Skubal didn't respond.
Advertisement
For his 10 pitches, Skubal — working with Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman — threw four sliders, two fastballs, two changeups and two sinkers. The velocity on all his pitches was down noticeably from season averages, with his fastball averaging 95.5 mph.
SOMETHING NEW: Tigers ace Tarik Skubal selected to 2024 MLB All-Star Game for first time
Skubal, a first-time All-Star, has a 2.41 ERA with 21 walks and 140 strikeouts across 116 innings in 19 starts in his fifth MLB season, his first year as the ace of the Tigers' pitching staff.
His ERA ranks first among AL pitchers.
"You're like, 'Oh, I'm pitching at an All-Star caliber level,' and you know that," Skubal said, "but you're not really trying to think about it because it takes away from what you need to do, which is your job. You pitch at a high level, and you're like, 'I think I can play in this game, or at least get selected to go to this.' But I didn't know what to expect. This is all way above my expectation. I just was like, 'I'm going to show up and play ball.' This is all really cool."
Before Tuesday's game, Skubal took to the All-Star Game red carpet with his wife, Jessica, and his son, Kasen . He wore Cartier sunglasses and a Shinola Detroit watch.
Advertisement
Skubal purchased similar Cartier sunglasses for Tigers outfielder Riley Greene , a fellow first-time All-Star, so they could match shades on the red carpet, then Greene returned the favor by purchasing his exact Shinola Detroit watch for Skubal so they could match timepieces.
"As far as meeting the guys and getting to know these guys as much as I can," Skubal said, "there's a lot of obviously really talented players but good people in this clubhouse you can talk about anything with. There are a lot of gamers. A lot of guys that are just gamers every time they can take the field. It's an honor to be teammates with these guys."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal needs just 10 pitches in All-Star Game
