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Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal is the reigning American League Cy Young winner and one of the best pitchers in the world. For more than five innings against the Texas Rangers on May 9, he believed he was on his way to something more — a perfect game.
He started thinking about it after the first inning.
"Oh yeah," Skubal said after the Tigers' 2-1 win over the Rangers.
He laughed, then flipped the switch.
"I thought I had a chance of doing something special tonight," Skubal continued. "Obviously, those things are really special, and you need a lot of things to go right. Maybe one day."
JEFF SEIDEL: I didn't expect to cover Tigers this long in 2025. But I'm sure glad I did
With the win, Skubal and the Tigers pushed their AL-best record to 26-13. It was arguably the best performance of his six-year MLB career, but he still fell 12 outs short of etching his name into the history books with perfection — or even a no-hitter.
"I felt like I had a chance," Skubal said. "There's not a lot of times where you feel like you have a chance."
The 28-year-old allowed one run on two hits with zero walks and 12 strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 96 pitches. The first hit: A leadoff single from Josh Smith, who hit a two-strike fastball through the hole on the left side of the infield in the sixth inning.
Catcher Dillon Dingler didn't realize.
"I did not know until the ball went through and I looked up at the scoreboard," Dingler said. "When the fans started clapping, I looked up at the board, and I was like, 'Damn, that was it.'"
MORE ABOUT HIM: Tarik Skubal for Cy Young again? Tigers ace at spring training early and ready for repeat
Skubal didn't make history in the way he hoped, but he still made it. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to record at least 50 strikeouts, no more than one walk and an ERA below 1.00 over a stretch of six consecutive starts.
To be specific, Skubal has a 50-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 0.98 ERA in his last six starts, spanning 37 innings.
He revealed the secret to his success.
"You just gotta be confident in your stuff and not be afraid of contact," Skubal said. "I'm not afraid of it. Even when guys run the ball out of the yard, as long as I gave it everything I had on that pitch and was bought in, who cares? That's the process-over-result part of the game."
He also generated 32 whiffs — the most by any MLB pitcher in 2025 and the most by any Tigers pitcher since the start of the pitch-tracking era in 2008.
Buy our book: The epic history of the Tigers!
The previous Tigers record was Aníbal Sánchez's 28 whiffs on April 26, 2013 (when he struck out 17 batters against the Atlanta Braves at Comerica Park).
Facing the Rangers, Skubal relentlessly pounded the strike zone.
"It's not just with one pitch," manager A.J. Hinch said. "The slider was good. The changeup was probably as good as I've ever seen it in my time with him. Fastball was electric. You put all that together in the same game, whether it's one game, two games, five games, the whole season last year, it's the reason why he's our ace."
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Skubal blew away the Rangers with his four-seam fastball and sinker early and often, mixing in his elite changeup to keep them off balance.
He, too, felt like his fastball was electric.
Skubal also caught the Rangers off guard in the fourth inning, dropping in one of two curveballs below the strike zone for a swinging strikeout of Jonah Heim.
"We liked that one," Dingler said.
Skubal has thrown the curve just 13 times this season, but the slow breaker could become more than a show-me pitch to help him against right-handed hitters.
"Even the little wrinkle that he threw in there with the curveball is going to be a pitch that he develops along the way," Hinch said.
In the seventh inning, Skubal registered his 30th of 32 whiffs, striking out Marcus Semien with an upper-90s fastball to conclude a grueling nine-pitch battle. It was his 12th and final strikeout against the Rangers, marking the ninth time in his 114-game career that he has reached double digits in strikeouts.
That's when Skubal showed his humanity.
"I'm tired," he said.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres overheard Skubal's words and jogged to the mound to initiate a mound visit. Moments later, Dingler joined them to check in.
"I'm just giving you a breather," Torres said.
"Put your hand on my chest," Skubal responded. "You can feel my heart beating pretty fast."
The two of them shared a laugh on the mound.
Skubal tipped his cap to Torres.
"That's just being a pro's pro," Skubal said.
[ NEW TIGERS NEWSLETTER!Sign up for The Purr-fect Game, a weekly dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers, here. ]
As Skubal walked off the mound, he clapped his pitching hand and glove hand together a few times, thanking the fans at Comerica Park who had risen to their feet in recognition of his dominant seven-inning performance.
It's shaping up to be another special season.
For both Skubal and the Tigers.
"The last two months of last season, when our team was doing what we were doing, and even into the postseason, that's the best I've ever felt throwing a baseball, just command-wise," Skubal said. "I mean, I'm throwing the ball well right now. I think there's still stuff I can work on and get better — that's the beauty of the game. But I think I'm in a good rhythm right now."
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] 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.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Tarik Skubal on near-perfecto: 'Thought I had a chance'
Continue reading...
He started thinking about it after the first inning.
"Oh yeah," Skubal said after the Tigers' 2-1 win over the Rangers.
He laughed, then flipped the switch.
"I thought I had a chance of doing something special tonight," Skubal continued. "Obviously, those things are really special, and you need a lot of things to go right. Maybe one day."
JEFF SEIDEL: I didn't expect to cover Tigers this long in 2025. But I'm sure glad I did
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With the win, Skubal and the Tigers pushed their AL-best record to 26-13. It was arguably the best performance of his six-year MLB career, but he still fell 12 outs short of etching his name into the history books with perfection — or even a no-hitter.
"I felt like I had a chance," Skubal said. "There's not a lot of times where you feel like you have a chance."
The 28-year-old allowed one run on two hits with zero walks and 12 strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 96 pitches. The first hit: A leadoff single from Josh Smith, who hit a two-strike fastball through the hole on the left side of the infield in the sixth inning.
Catcher Dillon Dingler didn't realize.
"I did not know until the ball went through and I looked up at the scoreboard," Dingler said. "When the fans started clapping, I looked up at the board, and I was like, 'Damn, that was it.'"
MORE ABOUT HIM: Tarik Skubal for Cy Young again? Tigers ace at spring training early and ready for repeat
Skubal didn't make history in the way he hoped, but he still made it. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to record at least 50 strikeouts, no more than one walk and an ERA below 1.00 over a stretch of six consecutive starts.
To be specific, Skubal has a 50-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 0.98 ERA in his last six starts, spanning 37 innings.
He revealed the secret to his success.
"You just gotta be confident in your stuff and not be afraid of contact," Skubal said. "I'm not afraid of it. Even when guys run the ball out of the yard, as long as I gave it everything I had on that pitch and was bought in, who cares? That's the process-over-result part of the game."
He also generated 32 whiffs — the most by any MLB pitcher in 2025 and the most by any Tigers pitcher since the start of the pitch-tracking era in 2008.
Buy our book: The epic history of the Tigers!
The previous Tigers record was Aníbal Sánchez's 28 whiffs on April 26, 2013 (when he struck out 17 batters against the Atlanta Braves at Comerica Park).
Facing the Rangers, Skubal relentlessly pounded the strike zone.
"It's not just with one pitch," manager A.J. Hinch said. "The slider was good. The changeup was probably as good as I've ever seen it in my time with him. Fastball was electric. You put all that together in the same game, whether it's one game, two games, five games, the whole season last year, it's the reason why he's our ace."
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Skubal blew away the Rangers with his four-seam fastball and sinker early and often, mixing in his elite changeup to keep them off balance.
He, too, felt like his fastball was electric.
Skubal also caught the Rangers off guard in the fourth inning, dropping in one of two curveballs below the strike zone for a swinging strikeout of Jonah Heim.
"We liked that one," Dingler said.
Skubal has thrown the curve just 13 times this season, but the slow breaker could become more than a show-me pitch to help him against right-handed hitters.
"Even the little wrinkle that he threw in there with the curveball is going to be a pitch that he develops along the way," Hinch said.
In the seventh inning, Skubal registered his 30th of 32 whiffs, striking out Marcus Semien with an upper-90s fastball to conclude a grueling nine-pitch battle. It was his 12th and final strikeout against the Rangers, marking the ninth time in his 114-game career that he has reached double digits in strikeouts.
That's when Skubal showed his humanity.
"I'm tired," he said.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres overheard Skubal's words and jogged to the mound to initiate a mound visit. Moments later, Dingler joined them to check in.
"I'm just giving you a breather," Torres said.
"Put your hand on my chest," Skubal responded. "You can feel my heart beating pretty fast."
The two of them shared a laugh on the mound.
Skubal tipped his cap to Torres.
"That's just being a pro's pro," Skubal said.
You must be registered for see images
[ NEW TIGERS NEWSLETTER!Sign up for The Purr-fect Game, a weekly dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers, here. ]
As Skubal walked off the mound, he clapped his pitching hand and glove hand together a few times, thanking the fans at Comerica Park who had risen to their feet in recognition of his dominant seven-inning performance.
It's shaping up to be another special season.
For both Skubal and the Tigers.
"The last two months of last season, when our team was doing what we were doing, and even into the postseason, that's the best I've ever felt throwing a baseball, just command-wise," Skubal said. "I mean, I'm throwing the ball well right now. I think there's still stuff I can work on and get better — that's the beauty of the game. But I think I'm in a good rhythm right now."
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] 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.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Tarik Skubal on near-perfecto: 'Thought I had a chance'
Continue reading...
