The pitching matchup in Detroit on Sunday sounds like it belongs in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal were not named All-Stars this season, but they’re easily among the best pitchers on the planet. The pair will start the rubber game of a three-game series.
Wheeler is coming off a dominant performance in Cincinnati when he matched his career high with 14 strikeouts in a 4-1 Phillies victory last Tuesday. The right-hander lasted seven innings, allowing just one run and four hits.
Wheeler has a 9-1 record and 2.28 ERA but got overlooked when the All-Stars were announced on July 4.
“I felt like that was a reminder for whoever needs to be reminded,” he said. “It pisses me off. It’s kind of BS. Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in (the All-Star mix), I wouldn’t be saying this. But I feel like I’ve earned it.”
According to The Athletic and NBC Sports Philadelphia, Wheeler was offered a spot that opened on the NL roster on Friday but declined.
Wheeler, who had a blood clot in his pitching shoulder last season, didn’t make his season debut until late April. He quickly reestablished his status as one of the majors’ most feared starters. He’s given up two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 14 starts.
“I had expectations when I got hurt,” Wheeler said. “I’m going to be the same guy or even better. I’m going to use this time to get a little bit stronger, maybe just tweak a couple things. That’s what I’ve been able to do. And credit to the coaching staff, the training staff and my family for helping me get through that mentally and physically.”
He’s 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers. Skubal has won both of his career starts against the Phillies, allowing three runs in a combined 14 innings for a 1.93 ERA.
Skubal (5-4, 3.06), who won the American League Cy Young Award each of the last two seasons, was not chosen for the Midsummer Classic mainly due to the fact he missed six weeks after undergoing an elbow procedure.
He’s won his last two starts, including a five-inning outing against the Athletics last Tuesday. The left-hander gave up five hits and walked two, but the Athletics only pushed across one run. Skubal struck out nine for the third consecutive start while throwing 96 pitches.
“Part of that is, I counted 20 non-competitive pitches,” Skubal said. “That’s a high percentage of my outing. The other part is, that’s a good lineup over there. I sprayed the ball a little, especially my fastball. And some changeups, too. Not my best showing by any means.”
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was much less critical of his ace’s performance.
“He’s always the hardest critic on himself,” Hinch said. “He beats himself up quite a bit. But give him some grace. He goes out and one run is deemed an OK start. Think about that standard every time you take the mound no matter what you do. The bar is really high and he can handle it.”
The teams split the first two games, with Philadelphia snapping Detroit’s six-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night.
With the All-Star break coming up and a six-game road trip to follow, the Tigers won’t play another home game until July 23.
–Field Level Media
