Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal unleashed his emotions after a clutch strikeout.
Not in the way he normally does.
This time, Skubal exchanged words with Chicago White Sox left-handed reliever Mike Vasil as he walked to the dugout after striking out Colson Montgomery (for the third time in as many plate appearances) to strand the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning Friday, June 19, at Comerica Park.
“I’m not even going to address it,” Skubal said after Friday’s game. “It’s over. I don’t even know who it was.”
In Friday’s game, Skubal allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk with eight strikeouts across 5⅔ innings, throwing 94 pitches – including 26 pitches in the fifth inning.
The Tigers ended up winning, 4-3.
Still, the Tigers (31-44) trail the first-place Cleveland Guardians by nine games – and the second-place White Sox by 8½ games – in the American League Central.
“We’re fighting tooth and nail for every win we can get,” Skubal said. “We put ourselves in that position, and we got to fight our way out of it. It’s probably a perfect storm for all that stuff to happen and for me to react the way I did.”
Not long after his trash talk, Skubal surrendered a solo home run to Junior Perez with one out in the sixth inning. He also gave up a solo homer to Randal Grichuk in the first inning.
Both homers occurred on his revered changeup.
It marked Skubal’s second start since returning from the injured list after missing 38 days due to a bone chip in his left elbow that required a minimally invasive surgery.
He owns a 3.02 ERA in nine starts.
“Our team comes to the ballpark when Tarik Skubal is pitching with a ton of confidence that we’re going to win the game,” manager A.J. Hinch said after Friday’s game. “His presence matters to a team, and we missed it when it was gone, and this is a good example of how he set a tone for the night, despite them getting some good swings.”
Typically, Skubal – the reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner – screams in celebration and backpedals off the mound after big strikeouts.
Not this time.
“I’m a competitive guy,” Skubal said. “I wear my emotions out there. That’s part of how I play the game. It’s just baseball, going back and forth. It is what it is. It happened. It’s over with.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers’ Tarik Skubal trash-talks with White Sox after clutch strikeout
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
