Tarik Skubal had an 18-4 record in 31 starts last season while earning the American League Cy Young Award.
The Detroit Tigers ace already has two losses on his record this season. Skubal will make his third start when the Tigers host the New York Yankees on Tuesday afternoon.
Skubal gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. The left-hander finished strong, recording half of his eight strikeouts in his last two frames.
“I thought it was more about getting his fastball to the glove side and making his pitches,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “He was yanking some changeups to right-handers and got burned with that a little bit. But he has to locate his fastball. Whatever it was that locked him back in, he got really good.”
Skubal struck out the side in the fifth by relying on his 97 mph fastball.
“It’s just a mental thing,” he said. “It’s more mental than physical most times. It’s just staying behind the ball and driving it through there, instead of letting your body leak and letting the ball leak back over the plate.”
Skubal faced the Yankees twice last season, coming away with a pair of no-decisions. He held New York to two runs in six innings while striking out 12 on May 5. Skubal then limited the Yankees to one run in six innings while recording five strikeouts on Aug. 18.
Overall, he has made five career starts against the Yankees, posting a 1-2 record and 3.00 ERA.
Carlos Carrasco (1-0, 7.36 ERA) will start for New York. The veteran right-hander gave up three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
“I just went out there to get outs and made my pitches,” Carrasco said.
The 38-year-old originally signed a minor league deal with the Yankees, then earned a major league contract with some solid spring performances.
Carrasco went 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland last season. He is 12-10 with a 3.78 ERA in 32 career appearances, 26 starts, against Detroit.
The Tigers stretched their winning streak to four games in the series opener on Monday afternoon with a 6-2 victory. After their late run to the 2024 playoffs and now off to a quick start, the Tigers are brimming with confidence.
“I don’t think we need a measuring stick,” Hinch said. “I think we have a lot of confidence playing anybody. I realize the star power that comes with the Yankees. They’re good. But so are we.”
Cold temperatures led to the series being moved from evening starts to the afternoon. The conditions were still trying.
“You’ve got guys playing in ski masks and continuously blowing on their hands just trying to stay as warm as they could,” Hinch said. “The more positive things you did, the better you felt today, and for the lion’s share of the game, we were the team that could feel pretty good about ourselves.”
The Yankees were limited to one extra-base hit, and only one of their runs was earned.
“Actually, up and down the lineup, we had good at-bats. We just missed a handful of pitches,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s hitting sometimes.”
–Field Level Media
