NEW YORK -- When Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal is on the mound, he brings an edge that reminds manager A.J. Hinch of some of the high-end pitchers he has been around over the years. And the skipper has been around some great ones such as Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander during his time with the Astros.
While Skubal is not yet on the road to the National Baseball Hall of Fame like Cole and Verlander, he is clearly one of baseball¡¯s best moundsmen. Entering Sunday¡¯s action, Skubal led all qualified American League pitchers with a 0.74 WHIP, while he was tied for second with four wins, ranked fourth with a .162 opponents' batting average and fifth with a 1.72 ERA.
¡°I¡¯m confident in my stuff,¡± Skubal said. ¡°My stuff is pretty good. I¡¯m executing. [Catcher Jake Rogers] is calling a great game. ¡ It¡¯s everybody involved in the organization -- training staff, coaching staff, everything. It kind of all adds up.¡±
On Sunday afternoon, Skubal received his third no-decision of the season in a 5-2 loss to the Yankees that ended after 7 1/2 innings due to rain and poor field conditions. Detroit was swept in the three-game series.
The inclement weather throughout the game caused Tigers' pitchers to have problems gripping the baseball -- and it helped lead to the Yankees scoring the winning runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Reliever Shelby Miller departed with the bases loaded and one out in a 2-2 ballgame in the bottom of the seventh. Left-hander Andrew Chafin entered and allowed a bases-clearing double to Juan Soto.
"The field became more and more unplayable, and it became dangerous," Hinch said. "Guys couldn¡¯t run. There were puddles ... everywhere. They had to fix the field every half-inning.
"We tried. Everybody tried. The grounds crew was amazing. Alan Porter, the crew chief, was awesome with how he communicated everything. We tried our best to get the game in, but enough was enough at the end despite us being down. It¡¯s a frustrating end, but probably smart with the conditions on the field."
During the early part of the game, it appeared that Skubal was in for a frustrating day. In the first inning, Skubal, too, had problems gripping the baseball. The weather was so bad that the rosin was soaked and players couldn't seem to dry their hands. Skubal found himself in an early hole after Aaron Judge swung at a 1-1 pitch and hit the ball over the right-field wall to give New York a 1-0 lead.
The Yankees increased their lead an inning later when Oswaldo Cabrera hit a ground-rule double into the right-field seats, scoring Gleyber Torres.
After that inning, Skubal dominated like an ace, retiring 12 out of the next 14 hitters he faced. He ended up striking out a career-high 12 batters. At 27, Skubal is the youngest Tigers pitcher to record a dozen strikeouts in a game since a 25-year-old Max Scherzer had 14 on May 30, 2010.
"There were so many reasons for him to be frustrated. Even though he was frustrated early, he didn¡¯t concede," Hinch said. " ... That¡¯s why we love him. He is going to do his best any time he gets the ball."
After the second inning, Skubal decided to rely heavily on his fastball and changeup. It was the weather that dictated using those pitches and staying away from his slider.
"The first two innings, I was getting behind guys," Skubal said. "And then, I just wanted to get in the zone and be ahead of hitters."
From start to finish, the ball was tough to grip for Skubal. The only time he pitched with a dry baseball was during his bullpen session before the game.
"We kind of knew that was going to happen, too. So it¡¯s unfortunate ... we don¡¯t get a chance to try and come back or anything like that," Skubal said of the early finish. "It was tough to grip anything."
Detroit¡¯s offense, which is hitting just .224 this season, continues to be a problem. The Tigers collected just five hits, though Spencer Torkelson showed some signs of life in keying a two-run rally in the seventh.
Torkelson, who collected two hits in the game, drove in Mark Canha with a double, then came home to score when Javier B¨¢ez grounded into a force out to tie the score. Torkelson also ripped a 100.1 mph double in the second inning off Yankees starter Nestor Cortes.
"The main focus today was to be on time [at the plate]," Torkelson said. "I know Nestor is pretty good at manipulating timing. That was my main focus."
Aside from Torkelson, however, the rest of the Tigers' lineup went just 3-for-26 (.115) on a day when the conditions only worsened throughout the game.
"It¡¯s a long season," Torkelson said. "We haven¡¯t had all three things click at once. We still have a winning record. That¡¯s a positive sign even when the offense isn't clicking, and the pitching and defense is clicking. We are waiting for all three things to click at the same time. It¡¯s a long season, and I have full confidence in this team.¡±