Skubal returns – Tarik Skubal returned from elbow surgery with his first start since April 29, but the Detroit Tigers lost 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians. Skubal allowed five hits across 4 2/3 innings and was hurt by a two-run homer from Daniel Schneemann in the third after an
CLEVELAND — Tarik Skubal walked back onto the mound knowing there would be no soft landing. Not from himself, and not from the game that waits for you the moment you finish a recovery.
The left-hander was making his first start since April 29, fresh off elbow surgery that removed a loose body on May 6 through an innovative procedure meant to accelerate his return. He didn’t come back looking for sentimentality. He came back to compete.
“I don’t want to play into that narrative of trying to be back,” Skubal said Saturday. “I need to be better, plain and simple. ‘Just happy to be there,’ that’s a loser mentality to me. I need to go out there and pitch and compete and give my team a chance to win and I didn’t do that.”
Detroit got Skubal back, but it didn’t get the results it needed. The Tigers stranded 11 runners and fell 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians. Skubal worked through some rust over 4 2/3 innings. allowing five hits and striking out four while missing badly on one pitch that changed the trajectory of the game.
The turning point came in the third inning when Skubal elevated a two-strike pitch to Daniel Schneemann. Schneemann, a left-handed hitter who had never faced Detroit’s ace, punished it with a two-run homer to give the Guardians a 3-1 lead.
“If I want one pitch back, it’s the one to Schneemann,” Skubal said.
Skubal had been ahead 0-2 before the mistake. He missed with a high fastball that Schneemann drove 417 feet.
“It was bad. Really bad,” Skubal said. “On 0-2, I’m going up and away and I kind of miss. It’s not in enough and it’s not up enough. If I’m going to miss, it needs to be more in and more up. It’s a good swing on it, but the execution on it was pretty poor.”
Despite that moment, his performance wasn’t built on a lack of stuff. His velocity was fine, with his fastball registering in the mid-90s (mph). His breaking pitches had their usual spin, and for the most part, he felt good about his process.
“My process was really good today,” Skubal said. “Every pitch I was bought-in on. At the end of the day. that’s all I can really control. is me trying to go out there and execute every pitch and sometimes things just don’t fall your way. Credit to those guys, too. They had some really good at-bats. and they were in on some pitches. and fouled off some pitches and took some really good pitches. too. You kind of give credit where credit is due. At the same time, I’ve got to be better to give our team a chance to win. I just didn’t do that today.”.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch sounded a note that matched Skubal’s mindset: the outcome wasn’t where it needed to be, but seeing him back mattered.
“He didn’t execute at the level that we’re used to,” Hinch said. “But man, it was nice to see him out there.”
Skubal was lifted after 80 pitches, and Hinch pointed to the odd start created by Cleveland’s early-inning lineup changes. The Guardians saw outfielders Angel Martinez and Chase DeLauter go down to injuries — Martinez with a bruised foot and DeLauter with bruised ribs — which Hinch called a “weird start.”.
Even with that disruption, the game still came down to execution. The Tigers needed timely hits, and they didn’t find them — not in the way that turns a returning ace into a win.
Tarik Skubal Tigers Guardians Cleveland Guardians vs Detroit Tigers elbow surgery loose body removal Daniel Schneemann AL Cy Young A.J. Hinch Angel Martinez injury Chase DeLauter injury