Skubal twirls 5 scoreless in 1st rehab start, just a month after surgery

DETROIT -- While Jack Flaherty and the Tigers faced the Mariners on Sunday afternoon in the series finale of their ALDS rematch at Comerica Park, the most famous Tiger from that series -- and the most prominent figure in their hopes of getting back into the playoff race this summer -- was working on the other side of the state.

Tarik Skubal’s five scoreless innings and six strikeouts (with 16 swings and misses) in a rehab start for High-A West Michigan put him in line to rejoin Detroit’s rotation sometime next weekend, when the Tigers visit Cleveland in an AL Central clash that could go a long way in determining their hopes of re-entering the division race.

The outing was plenty to show Skubal, a month and a day removed from Nanoscopic surgery to remove a loose body from around his left elbow, is ready to reclaim his post as one of baseball’s toughest pitchers.

Skubal, who built up his workload over the past two weeks with a couple of simulated games, needed just eight pitches -- all strikes -- to retire the Dayton Dragons in order in the first inning, including a couple of three-pitch strikeouts. He fanned leadoff hitter and the Reds’ No. 25 prospect Carlos Sanchez on a 97 mph heater, then found 98 to send down top prospect Alfredo Duno. Skubal worked in his secondary pitches for two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 second inning, but also hit 99 mph on a few fastballs, according to Whitecaps broadcaster Dan Hasty, then worked around a two-out single in the third inning from Victor Acosta.

The only other baserunner Skubal allowed was on a fifth-inning ground ball from Jacob Friend, who beat out Tigers’ No. 2 prospect Bryce Rainer’s throw from shortstop. The infield single allowed Skubal a few more pitches before he ended the inning and headed to the bullpen to throw more pitches and get near his target of around 75.

It was exactly what the Tigers wanted out of it.

“There are game situations that should be really easy for a big leaguer,” Tigers manager A.J Hinch said, “but it’s just getting back into game mode. It’s just different than a sim game. The sim game, part of it is physical skill-building, a physical return to play. The mental aspect, the competitive aspect, the bad call, error behind you, there’s things you can’t simulate in practice. And it’s not Spring Training.”

While the rehab start allowed Skubal to get in his work just a couple hours’ drive from Detroit, the Tigers also put him in there rather than with Triple-A Toledo for weather purposes. The forecast for Grand Rapids was more favorable than in Des Moines, Iowa, where Toledo’s series finale on the road was cancelled due to rain.

Though Hinch has yet to confirm when Skubal will rejoin the rotation, he said going into his rehab start that he hoped it would be a one-and-done assignment on his way back to the big leagues. Skubal could line up for the series opener in Cleveland on Friday, or the middle game of the three-game set on Saturday.

With fellow injured Tigers starters Casey Mize and Justin Verlander scheduled to make rehab starts on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, Detroit could get a rotation makeover between Cleveland and its ensuing series in Houston. The carryover could add more quality to the bullpen, depending on how the Tigers shuffle the pitchers.

• Verlander slated for another rehab start with Triple-A Toledo

“Especially with where we’re at and what we need to accomplish in the coming weeks, there is no room for error to just trial-and-error and not be prepared,” Hinch said. “We’ve got to prepare in all aspects, and we need these guys to not just get back. We need them to be good.”