Get ready for some serious drama, because Tarik Skubal, the former Seattle University ace and two-time AL Cy Young winner, is stepping onto the mound at Comerica Park on Friday night for a showdown you won’t want to miss. Less than a month after the Detroit Tigers traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Skubal is making his first start against his old squad, and trust me, the feels are gonna be real.
The Emotional Gauntlet
Skubal knows this isn’t just another game. He straight up told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya it’ll be a “challenge” to keep his emotions in check. “It’s playing baseball in a place that’s obviously special to me, right?” he said. “I spent eight years there. But I’m just trying to play baseball. That’s gonna be the challenge, just to keep the game the game.” You gotta respect that. The guy was a ninth-round draft pick out of Seattle University back in 2018, spent eight years climbing through their system, and then became a two-time AL Cy Young winner for them in his last two full seasons. He was there when they finally broke that decade-long playoff drought with a wild-card berth in 2024, too. So yeah, there’s history. But for Skubal, he’s just trying to play ball. “I’m sure there will be some emotion, obviously,” he admitted, “But at the same time, the game of baseball is normal for me. That’s my normal, is playing baseball.”
The Wildest Way to Stay Locked In
Now, how does a guy keep his head straight through trade rumors and massive emotional returns? This is where it gets WILD. Ardaya noted Skubal’s secret weapon: a “true crime ritual.” Yeah, you heard that right. He regularly dives into true crime docs, even recently watching a Charles Manson one on Netflix. “That was wild,” he said, and you know it was! For him, this routine is absolutely essential to maintaining focus through the brutal grind of an MLB season. He literally said, “If I let my focus shift from that and I start worrying about what’s happening three months from now or what has already happened, it just is a distraction. That’s all it is. So I don’t really ever think like that. It does me no good to be in that headspace.” So far with the Dodgers, he’s got a 3.38 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 24.0 innings over four starts, allowing at least two earned runs in three of those outings. There have been some bumps, sure, but nobody should be worried about this dude’s ability to dominate when the real games start.
So, all eyes on Friday night at 6:40 p.m. ET. This isn’t just any game, it’s the first time Skubal has ever gone up against the Tigers in his MLB career. Talk about stakes! He’s heading back to Comerica Park, where he holds a stellar 2.67 ERA over 445.2 innings in 77 career starts. This isn’t just a game, it’s a statement, and you know Seattle U fans are gonna be watching every pitch.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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