Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon, tossing seven scoreless innings allowing just three hits and a walk and striking out eight.
It was Detroit’s fourth straight victory, one that helped them take their record to .500: 27 wins and 27 losses.
One of the reasons behind their newfound competitiveness has definitely been Skubal’s excellent play from the mound.
The southpaw’s ERA is now 2.01 after the masterful outing on Wednesday.
“Tarik Skubal trims his ERA to 2.01. His 0.82 WHIP leads the American League,” MLB tweeted about Skubal.
Tarik Skubal trims his ERA to 2.01.
His 0.82 WHIP leads the American League. pic.twitter.com/kZxAzsHja8
Many people doubted Skubal before the start of the season.
Well, he has silenced the doubters with pinpoint command, dominant stuff, and incredible numbers.
Skubal’s career has been brilliant, even if it feels he hasn’t put it all together for 160+ innings in a single season.
He is the owner of a fascinating statistical oddity: his ERA has decreased every season.
In 2020, the year of his MLB debut, he posted a 5.63 mark.
Then, in 2021, he was at 4.34, and improved to 3.52 in 2022.
He had his best season yet last year at 2.80, but only in 80.1 frames.
He is already up to 67 innings this year and is pitching better than ever before.
As long as he is healthy and playing like this, the Tigers will have at least a chance of making the postseason.
He has put the weight of the pitching staff on his back together with Reese Olson and his 1.92 ERA.
If the Tigers are going to the postseason, it will likely be because these two young pitching stars had a lot to do with it.