On Friday, Tarik Skubal took the mound for the Detroit Tigers against the Chicago Cubs, hoping to build on a strong start against the Minnesota Twins last weekend. Skubal’s situation was not as straightforward this time.
With Skubal’s minimal backlash based on these six performances, it appears that a DEFCON 2 alarm is premature.
Skubal got into problems at various stages over the following five innings after an excellent first inning in which he retired the Cubs in order with two strikeouts and a foul out to the catcher.
On his way to yielding four earned runs on the night, he gave up eight hits, a single walk, and a hit batter. On the night, the restricted Detroit Tigers offense was unable to offset those four runs.
The advantages were obvious. Skubal limited the damage by allowing only four runs on a night when the Cubs made solid contact. He only walked one batter while striking out five.
Skubal’s magnificent pitch provided the backbreaking moment. Skubal’s change-up caused Javier Baez’s bat to crumble in his hands. The outfield, on the other hand, was rather deep and the infield was playing in.
Is Skubal On Pitch Count?
He tossed 46 pitches and was not expected to throw more than 50 because he was still working his way up the pitch count.