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Detroit Tigers’ Scott Harris doesn’t believe in Tarik Skubal window
Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris talks July 31, 2025, about how Tarik Skubal’s status impacts front office plans.
- Tigers ace Tarik Skubal allowed six runs, but only one was earned, in his latest start against the Athletics.
- Skubal believes he’s overcome a recent “lull” in his pitching performance, marked by a slightly higher walk rate and lower strikeout rate.
- Despite the “lull,” Skubal still maintained a 2.84 ERA during that stretch and leads MLB with a 2.28 ERA on the season.
- Skubal, lined up for at least 4 more starts, is focused on pitch execution before the MLB postseason, where he aims to be at his best after the long regular season.
KANSAS CITY, MO — The box score shows six runs.
But five were unearned.
The final line didn’t reflect how well Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal actually pitched Monday, Aug. 25, against the Athletics, following what he described as “a little bit of a lull” in his ability to execute pitches over the past month. The 28-year-old didn’t walk any batters for the first time since Aug. 2 (and for just the second time since July 20).
“The last week of July into early August felt like a grind, where it’s mentally exhausting more than it was physically,” Skubal said. “Once I got through that, now the focus is on me pitching and then being the best version of myself, so when the games start to mean a lot more — especially the postseason games, where every out and every hitter is very valuable — I need to be at my best, so that way our team has a chance to win that day.”
To put his recent lull into context, Skubal posted a 2.84 ERA with a 7.3% walk rate and 29.3% strikeout rate across 31⅔ innings over that five-start stretch. In his other 21 starts, including Monday against the Athletics, he has a 2.14 ERA with a 3.1% walk rate and 34.5% strikeout rate across 134⅓ innings.
The lull wasn’t obvious in the earned runs, but he was walking more batters and striking out fewer — the product of less precise pitch location.
“It’s different for everybody,” Skubal said.
Manager A.J. Hinch believes the mental grind of the eight-month season — from mid-February to mid-October — impacts everyone in the big leagues, even Skubal.
“I don’t think he’s too hard on himself,” Hinch said. “You should always set the ball extremely high. Getting himself ready for the stretch run in September and hopefully into October is just part of the season, and he’s had to learn how to deal with that.”
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The Tigers need the elite version of Skubal.
The postseason is coming soon.
Skubal — the reigning American League Cy Young winner — expects to be ready for the stretch run, especially after he sharpened his execution in his latest start.
Not only did he record 12 strikeouts compared to zero walks, but he also threw a 100.3 mph four-seam fastball for his fastest fastball since early July, all while continuing to generate an abundance of whiffs with his changeup.
“My last start, if you look at my execution of pitches it was really good,” Skubal said. “If I can do that, and I understand I gave up six runs, and I don’t want to give up six runs because we’re probably not going to win any game that I do that in, but I didn’t walk, I punched, my execution was great. If I keep trusting that and staying to who I am as a player, I like our odds in any game that I’m executing at the clip that I was executing.”
In 2025, Skubal leads MLB with a 2.28 ERA, and has 25 walks and 212 strikeouts across 166 innings in 26 starts.
Although Skubal remains the favorite to repeat as the AL Cy Young winner, Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet is closing the gap with one month remaining in the regular season. Crochet owns a 2.40 ERA with 42 walks and an MLB-leading 214 strikeouts across an AL-leading 172⅓ innings in 27 starts.
There are 26 games remaining in the regular season, with Skubal lined up to start at least four more times, beginning Sunday, Aug. 31, against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
He seems locked in.
“Physically, you’re probably not as fresh as you were in April,” Skubal said. “But mentally, I feel really good. I feel really good about our group of guys that we got. This group, we’re relentless. We continue to put in work every single day — good, bad or indifferent, and that’s what I love about our guys. For me, I felt like I had a little bit of a lull and now I feel like I’m back to myself.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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