Detroit Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Dominates with Career-Best Strikeout Night, Ignites MLB Buzz

DETROIT — Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal reminded everyone why he owns the reigning AL Cy Young Award, spinning a masterful two-hit shutout in Sunday’s 5-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park. The left-hander carried a perfect game into the sixth inning and fanned 13, matching a career high and dropping his season ERA to 2.49. The outing was vintage Skubal: a riding four-seam fastball that lived at 96–98 mph above the zone, tunneling changeups that vanished late, and a tight slider that kept Cleveland’s right-handed bats honest. He retired the first 15 hitters before Will Wilson’s leadoff double spoiled the perfecto, then struck out five of his final nine hitters to seal his first complete-game shutout of 2025. Sunday’s gem punctuated an eye-opening May in which the 28-year-old has posted a 1.62 ERA and 50 strikeouts against just five walks. Since Opening Day, opposing hitters are batting a mere .178, and his 13.0 K/9 leads American League starters with at least 50 innings pitched. Skubal’s dominance came at a pivotal moment for Detroit. Cleveland had sliced the Tigers’ division lead to three games with three straight victories, but the southpaw’s statement performance restored a four-game cushion as the calendar creeps toward June. “You want the ball in big games,” Skubal said post-game. “I felt my delivery click in the bullpen and tried to carry that rhythm pitch-to-pitch.” Manager A.J. Hinch lauded his ace’s efficiency — 110 pitches, 74 strikes — noting that Skubal generated 22 whiffs, 12 on the heater alone. Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt tipped his cap: “We chased up, but even when we laid off, he dotted the corners. That’s why he’s who he is right now.” Beyond the box score, Skubal’s outing fuels early talk of back-to-back Cy Young bids. He already paces the AL in strikeouts (92) and ranks top-five in FIP (2.21) and WHIP (0.83). Add in a walk rate under 4%, and the metrics back up the eye test that Detroit has a bona fide ace entering his prime. The schedule won’t ease up. Skubal’s next turn lines up for a marquee showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, pitting him against Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Scouting departments will scour Sunday’s tape, but hitters may still struggle to solve the lefty’s north-south attack. For Tigers fans, the takeaway is simple: when Skubal is on the mound, Detroit looks every bit like a postseason threat. For the rest of baseball, the message is even clearer — any road to the American League pennant might have to run through Tarik Skubal.