On the day that Tarik Skubal might have pitched his last game for the Detroit Tigers, manager A.J. Hinch looked absolutely dejected, like his heart had been ripped out of his body.
“The emotions are obvious,” Hinch said after the Baltimore Orioles came from behind and stunned the Tigers, 10-9, in 12 innings on Wednesday, July 29.
“It sucks when it starts to evaporate and you are still in the game … I don’t really have a word to describe some emotion. You probably see it.”
Yes, you could see it. You could feel it.
Because everything had evaporated. All hope. Not to mention any idea of keeping Skubal.
It’s hard to imagine a loss worse than this. A crazier swing of emotions. From a mostly feel-good afternoon to yet another maddening defeat. The Tigers blew a 7-0 lead and all kinds of Skubal feel-good emotions, including a wonderful standing ovation in Comerica Park, after their bullpen imploded and gave up 10 runs after the sixth inning.
Which is just mind boggling in one sense.
And yet, it wasn’t really surprising in another. The Tigers have now blown 30 leads, which has been their Achilles’ heel.
So, maybe it wasn’t Hinch’s heart that had been ripped out.
Maybe, it was the reality of the moment sinking in – that his ace pitcher will soon be wearing a new uniform.
After a homestand where so many bad things happened to this team, crapping out with a 3-4 record, it’s hard to imagine Skubal not being traded now. It’s hard to come up with an argument to keep him.
The Tigers lost the series to the Orioles – a series the Tigers desperately needed to win, not just in general, but because Baltimore is ahead of the Tigers in the wild-card chase. So this felt like a double loss in that regard.
The Tigers have now lost four of their last five games – at a time when they desperately needed to stack wins.
And after this debacle, the Tigers fell to 51-58, which seems ominous with just three games left before the trade deadline.
For weeks, I’ve argued this team is good enough to fight for the playoffs, in large part because the Tigers have a tremendous starting rotation. And that is still true. But this game showed once again that it doesn’t matter how good your starter pitches on any given day if your bullpen blows it.
On this day, it felt bigger than a single game had slipped away.
It seemed like Skubal did, too.
A heartwarming moment turned ice cold
Now, here’s the crazy thing.
This day started with an entirely different vibe.
It was a celebration of Skubal, the two-time Cy Young Award winner. It was an appreciation from Tigers fans.
He warmed up in the outfield at Comerica Park, doing long toss just like always. But nothing about this was ordinary. Everybody knew the situation: he is a prized trade chip and this might have been his last time pitching for the Tigers. Skubal finished his long toss and walked to the bullpen, flipping the ball to Tyrus Di Ponio, a 10-year-old from Windsor, Ontario. Tyrus caught the ball and looked absolutely stunned. “I was in awe,” he said.
He was wearing a white Skubal jersey, just like countless others. “He’s a hero to me,” Tyrus said.
That’s one of Skubal’s legacies. His impact on the young baseball fans.
Skubal went to the bullpen and dozens of fans leaned over the railing, watching him work – perhaps the closest you can get to these players. Many held their phones and took pictures and videos.
“Today, it’s a Skubtastic 80 degree day,” the announcer said.
Skubal finished his warm up and walked to the dugout. The crowd started to notice and it was like a wave of standing ovation as he walked.
“Starting on the mound for your Detroit Tigers,” the announcer said. “No. 29 … Tarik Skubal.”
Skubal bounced up the steps and ran toward the mound. “Hey Motown, here come your Detroit Tigers,” the announcer said.
There were so many layers to this game.
Yes, it might have been Skubal’s last start for the Tigers. But there was something else. Skubal was chasing a milestone. “Something cool,” he had said.
He had 999 career strikeouts and he wanted to reach 1,000 in Comerica.
In the first inning, against the first batter he faced, Skubal did just that, striking out Taylor Ward, becoming the fastest Tigers pitcher by innings pitched to reach 1,000 strikeouts in franchise history.
The crowd rose and gave him a wonderful standing ovation.
“That one, for whatever reason, felt more special than every other one,” Skubal said of the milestone.
He took off his cap. As the crowd screamed and clapped for him, he returned the favor, clapping into his glove, giving the appreciation right back.
And everything seemed perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
Then, a whole bunch of bad started
Then, Skubal went to work, even if this day was filled with emotion for everybody,
“He had to pitch with a lot on his plate,” Hinch said. “That’s very obvious.”
Skubal went into the seventh inning holding a 7-0 lead and the Orioles looked like a bad travel baseball team. Committing errors. Playing sloppy baseball.
After walking Colby Mayo, Hinch came out to the mound and the crowd started booing. They talked and Hinch turned around, leaving him in to face Leody Taveras. So, the crowd roared.
“I went out there to let him know it was his last hitter,” Hinch said. “We wanted Taveras right-handed.”
After he singled in a run, Hinch bounced up the steps and pointed at the bullpen. This was it. The end. In so many ways. He tapped Skubal in the chest.
Skubal walked off the mound to a loud standing ovation and applauded the fans with his glove. Then, he went down the dugout as a video highlight played on the scoreboard.
If it had ended there, it would have been a wonderful feel-good moment.
But it didn’t of course.
It’s not worth it to replay everything that went wrong at the end of this game. It can be summed up succinctly: the bullpen blew it in spectacular fashion.
All the feel good of Skubal’s day had washed away – and his fate seemed clear.
The next step seems obvious
Now, here’s the other crazy part of this.
The Tigers are actually in a great position. Skubal finished the outing healthy and he looked as dominant as ever. They should get a great return for him.
So, Hinch was asked after the game about Skubal.
“I just can’t think in hypotheticals,” Hinch said. “I really can’t. I’ll have a ton to say when and if and where and whenever, but I just think it’s a waste of my time to talk in hypotheticals. It’s not what I’m about.”
But after this disaster, it doesn’t seem that hypothetical anymore.
After this disappointing homestand, after this ridiculous loss, after the hole this team dug in May, it seems inevitable.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers must trade Tarik Skubal after disastrous homestand
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
