CLEVELAND -- The jeers came from all over Progressive Field.
“Skuuuuuu-bal! Skuuuuuuuu-bal!”
Some Guardians fans chanted it quickly. Others strung it out for emphasis. But with every Guardians scoring threat on Tarik Skubal, the chants came around, without fail.
If Skubal couldn’t return to action in front of Tigers fans at Comerica Park, there was no better place for him to return from the injured list. His history with the Guardians is long and varied, from his complete-game shutout last season in Detroit to postseason gems there the last two Octobers.
Saturday was not one of his gems, nor for the Tigers defense behind him, with three runs scoring – two earned – on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. But considering Skubal’s return came just 38 days after surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow, simply having him back was the victory they had to settle for in a 3-1 loss.
“It was a good day,” he said. “I don't really want to play into that narrative of trying to be back. I need to be better, and that's plain and simple. I think if I'm just happy to be here, that's kind of a loser mentality to me. I need to go out there and pitch and compete and give our team a chance to win, and I just didn't do that today.”
And therein lies the conundrum ahead. Skubal is back, and even if he wasn’t at his best Saturday, his stuff showed plenty to expect he’ll return to his usual form once he shakes off the rust. But where will the Tigers be when that happens?
After a sixth loss in as many games against the Guardians this season, Detroit is back in a struggle to stay within sight of a postseason spot as the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline nears. Five of their six losses to Cleveland have been by two runs or fewer, and Saturday was an example of why.
The Guardians got the big swing they needed to beat Skubal, making him pay for a mislocated 0-2 fastball to Daniel Schneemann, who entered in the third inning for Chase DeLauter (right rib contusion). The Tigers went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.
“I feel like we’ve played that [kind of] game a ton, both sides now,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
Even at his best, Skubal can’t carry the Tigers himself, and his teammates know that. The boost the Tigers hoped to get from his return was as much emotional as physical.
“That's our guy,” Spencer Torkelson said before the game. “We love playing behind everybody, but there's just a little different vibe in the clubhouse on days he's on the bump.”
Skubal’s hardest pitches of the day provided a microcosm for the game. His first hit allowed was off a 99.9 mph fastball that DeLauter lined into left field for an opposite-field single. Skubal reached 99.6 mph on back-to-back pitches to Steven Kwan before Kwan lined out to center to strand runners at second and third in the fourth inning.
“Stuffwise, he came out pretty hot,” Hinch said. “That was a high-end fastball. He didn't really locate his stuff the way he normally does. I think that's the layoff, that's the quick rehab and then getting him here. He didn't execute at the level that we're used to seeing. But man, it was nice to see him out there.”
Skubal could do nothing about Dillon Dingler’s throw into left field trying to nab Travis Bazzana stealing third that allowed the first run to cross the plate in the second inning, but it was a hit-by-pitch to Stuart Fairchild that moved Bazzana to second base ahead of that.
Likewise, Skubal could do little about the 2-2 changeup that José Ramírez golfed into right field for a third-inning double. It was off the plate and less than a foot off the ground. Schneemann’s ensuing two-run homer in the subsequent at-bat is the pitch to regret.
“It was bad, really bad,” Skubal said. “I mean, 0-2, I'm going up and away, and I miss. It's not in enough and it's not up enough. If I'm going to miss, it has to be more in or more up. If I'm going up and away, the miss needs to be towards my glove side or above the zone, up middle. The miss there is not up and in. I mean, it's a good swing on it, but the execution was pretty poor.”
Skubal retired Ramírez and Schneemann to begin the fifth before Hinch took the ball at 80 pitches and called upon Kyle Finnegan to get the final out of the inning. Skubal kept his head down as he walked to the dugout, dropping his glove on the bench and sitting down before pitching coach Chris Fetter joined him for a conversation.
“You give credit where credit's due,” Skubal said, “but at the same time, I need to be better to give our team a chance to win, and I just didn't do that today.”