Detroit gets a new test and a bit of closure in facing Skubal

DETROIT -- For the past few Spring Trainings, Tigers hitters would step into the box against Tarik Skubal on the back fields of the Tigertown complex, dig in and hope for the best. Facing him in any scenario is tough; facing him as some of the first live pitching of camp can feel hopeless.

“Pitchers are a little ahead of us then,” Spencer Torkelson said.

Still, as hitters dug in against their teammate in the relative quiet, no crowd noise to dampen the pop of the mitt and rare crack of the bat, it was understandable to wonder what it would be like for them to face Skubal in a real game. The nature of Major League Baseball, and Skubal’s rising status as one of the greats of the game and a potential blockbuster free agent, set that feeling: What if someday?

That day came sooner than many Tigers expected. And as the Tigers welcomed their former ace back to Comerica Park on Friday, 27 days after his trade to the Dodgers, the feeling was nothing any workout could prepare them for.

“It was a lot,” manager A.J. Hinch said after Friday’s 2-1 loss. “And it was a lot for everybody in the building. But it’s necessary, right, for everybody to take a step forward and move on and have this not be as hot of a topic. Tonight had to happen.”

• On Skubal’s emotional return to Detroit ... from the other dugout

Skubal received a largely welcoming ovation upon his introduction, followed by a video tribute that left him emotional as he walked from the visiting bullpen to the dugout. He pointed across the field to the home dugout, seemingly trying to keep it together.

One by one, Skubal’s ex-teammates stepped into the batter's box and greeted him with a subtle nod. Most went back to the dugout with an appreciation for what opponents had to suffer for the last few years when Skubal pitched for Detroit.

“He came right at all of us,” Kevin McGonigle said. “Changeup’s a lot bigger when I’m in the box than it is [when I’m] behind him.”

Max Clark and Skubal were teammates for one regular-season game, Clark called up for his MLB debut the day before Skubal was traded. But they’d built a friendship in Spring Training that included Clark buying Skubal a customized chain bearing his initials.

Skubal put Clark on a roller coaster in his first at-bat, speeding him up with fastballs before fanning him on a 90 mph changeup to begin the third inning. He’d tried to prepare for the changeup on the Trajekt machine, but it was little help.

“Part of what makes Skubal’s changeup so elite is the deception,” Clark said. “You can’t replicate that. It’s Skubal.”

That pitch was still in Clark’s head when he stepped to the plate with two outs in the sixth and Eduardo Valencia on second. He took a first-pitch fastball off the plate for a strike and prepared for the roller coaster again.

“Because of the first AB, I honestly thought he was going to go back to the changeup,” Clark said. “It's what he’s made his money on.”

Instead, Clark got a 1-2 fastball at 99 mph on the outer edge, near the first-pitch strike.

“It started in the same lane [as the changeup],” Clark said. “So I just trusted my hands and tried to filet it the other way, and it stayed inside the line.”

The Tigers were on the board, and Clark was off to the races. His home-to-third time of 11.08 seconds was not only fastest by a Tiger this year, but third fastest by a Tiger since Statcast began tracking, bested only by Parker Meadows twice in August 2024. Clark’s time ranks 13th fastest in the Majors this year, a leaderboard dominated by Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, Chandler Simpson and Garrett Mitchell.

“Around first, I was just kind of Cadillacking,” Clark said, “and then I saw it get by Teoscar [Hernández] and I was like, 'Uh oh, it's time to go.' So I turned on the jets. Felt really good.”

It was Skubal’s lone run allowed over six innings, having allowed four hits and struck out seven, but it was enough to deny him a win. The Dodgers rallied for RBI singles in the sixth off Drew Sommers and the eighth off Jacob Waguespack, and the Tigers had no answer for the Dodgers' bullpen.

Skubal got a no-decision. The Tigers got closure.

“We wanted to beat him,” Hinch said. “We put a couple good swings on him. We put a little pressure on him. But he was good, as he always is. But for tonight, yeah, it was really weird.”