Atlanta — Even before Tarik Skubal set his glove on the ground and began rubbing out whatever kink he was feeling in his golden left arm, manager AJ Hinch was double-stepping out to the mound.
“I ran out there to make sure everything was OK,” Hinch said after the Tigers endured another walk-off loss Wednesday night, losing to the Braves 4-3. “It hasn’t been a good 24 hours for us medically.”
Understatement. Before the game, Hinch announced starting pitcher Casey Mize (groin) and shortstop-center fielder Javier Báez (ankle) were going on the injured list, joining Zach McKinstry, Justin Verlander, Parker Meadows and others.
It’s been a stretch.
But when Skubal stopped the game and started rubbing the outside of forearm, those were five-alarm bells going off.
“He said he needed a minute,” Hinch said. “It was a cramp or a funny feeling on the outside of his arm. He threw a practice pitch and then punched out the side.”
Crisis averted?
That the funny feeling was on the outside of his arm is a good thing, since the flexor tendon and elbow ligaments generally announce distress on the inside of the arm.
“I don’t really know how to explain it,” Skubal said afterward. “I just needed a little bit of time. Whatever happened, just needed a little bit of time. The symptoms I experienced on the one throw went away.”
Pressed on what he actually felt, Skubal said, “I don’t want to describe it, honestly. I just didn’t feel right but I felt fine after.”
Anything regarding Skubal’s health will be scrutinized throughout the industry this season for obvious reasons. He is expected to be the hottest ticket on the free-agent market after this season. And Skubal is in his rights to keep his medical news between himself and the Tigers, of course. Until it impacts his performance, which this, let’s call it a cramp, did not.
The next pitch after the mound visit was a 97-mph fastball that he threw past Matt Olson for strike three. He proceeded to strikeout Austin Riley, finishing him with 96-mph and 94-mph heaters, and Mauricio Dubon.
The Dubon punchout was vintage Skubal. Dubon spoiled a sinker and a changeup and on the sixth pitch of the at-bat and his 91st of the outing, Skubal broke off his first curveball of the game and got one of the ugliest swings you will see from a big-league hitter.
“Obviously, I felt good after (the delay), right?” said Skubal, who set down the top six hitters in the Braves order in a row in their third at-bat against him.
It was a strong and heady performance. The Braves came out intent on attacking his fastball early and they put him in a 2-0 hole in the first three batters. Ozzie Albies bashed a 95.6 mph four-seamer that was up and in and the right-handed hitting Albies still got the barrel out front and pulled it into the left field seats.
You don’t do that unless you are fully sold-out on the heater.
Next hitter, Olson, smoked a 97-mph sinker. The ball left his bat at 108 mph. It was the third straight ball hit over 100-mph against Skubal, all heaters. This one, though, went for an out thanks to a spectacular diving play by third baseman Colt Keith.
Dubon led off the second inning hitting another bullet, 103.8 mph, but on the ground and right at shortstop Kevin McGonigle, whose soft hands made the play look almost routine.
“The defense had my back today,” Skubal said.
But things started to shift. Catcher Dillon Dingler adjusted the attack plan.
“First time through, I got hit around, so that’s baseball,” Skubal said. “You’ve got to make adjustments. Ding called a good game and we audibled and got them off the heater and we were able to reestablish the heater later in the seventh inning and got a ton of miss.”
Skubal allowed three singles after the second inning and promptly erased two of them on 5-4-3 double-play balls.
“It looked like he got better as the game wore on,” Hinch said. “It looked like his stuff got better and his execution got better. We played really good defense, too. It’s what you need to do behind Tarik. This is a high-contact team and you’ve got to make plays. Which we did and he put us in position to win.”
If you want a signature moment Skubal’s outing, how about his three-pitch strikeout Ronald Acuna, Jr., in the third inning.
He got him to take an ugly half-swing at an 88-mph slider, then froze him with a 95-mph sinker and blew him away with a 98-mph four-seam fastball.
Skubal punched out Acuna three times.
It was a fun watch, right up until Olson spoiled the party with his two-run, walk-off homer on center-cut cutter from Kenley Jansen.
On deck: Texas Rangers
Series: Three games at Comerica Park, Detroit
First pitch: Friday — 6:40; Saturday — 7:15 p.m.; Sunday — 7:20 p.m.
TV/radio: Friday — Detroit Sports Net/97.1 FM; Saturday — Fox/97.1; Sunday — Peacock/97.1.
Probables: Friday — LHP MacKenzie Gore (2-2, 4.35) vs. RHP Jack Flaherty (0-2, 5.33); Saturday — RHP Kumar Rocker (1-2, 3.38) vs. RHP Keider Montero (1-2, 4.00); Sunday — RHP Jack Leiter (1-2, 5.17) vs. TBA.
Scouting report
Gore, Rangers: He’s coming off a five-inning, seven-strikeout start against the Athletics. He’s averaging 12 strikeouts per nine innings with a 30% chase rate. He’s added a sinker this year, which has bolstered his arsenal against lefties (.192 average, .630 OPS). He lives off his high-extension, 95-96 mph four-seamer, mixing curveballs, cutters and changeups to right-handed hitters, sinkers and sliders to lefties.
Flaherty, Tigers: The 22 walks in 25.1 innings and career-low 56% strike rate tell the tale of his issues this season. He has battled to find consistency in his mechanics and his delivery. There were two starts earlier in April when it looked like he found a groove, but the last two have been short and rough (3.1 innings and two innings. It’s been just six starts, but this feels like a critical start for Flaherty.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal eased initial injury fears with Cy Young-strong finish
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
