Detroit Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Enters ALDS Game 2 in Pedro Martinez Territory

Tarik Skubal, the heavy favorite to win AL Cy Young, will take the mound for the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the ALDS coming off two historically dominant seasons.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers, who trail the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 in the ALDS, are turning to their historically dominant ace for Game 2 on Monday.

Tarik Skubal will take the mound for the Tigers, who are looking to bounce back from their series-opening 7-0 loss on Saturday. That marked Detroit's largest margin of defeat since Aug. 22, interrupting what has been an otherwise dominant run down the stretch.

Needing a win to avoid going down 0-2, there may not be many pitchers on the planet better suited to rise to the occasion than Skubal.

The 27-year-old left-hander went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA, 0.922 WHIP, 228 strikeouts and 6.3 WAR in the 2024 regular season, leading the American League in wins, ERA and strikeouts. By winning the AL Pitching Triple Crown, Skubal made himself the heavy favorite to win AL Cy Young.

Skubal proved his worth in the playoffs as well, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings in a win over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series last Tuesday.

For as much as 2024 was a coronation of sorts for Skubal, his emergence didn't come out of nowhere. He went 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA, 0.896 WHIP and 2.0 WAR across 15 starts in 2023, laying the foundation for his breakout season to come.

As ESPN's Buster Olney passed along from the Elias Sports Bureau, Skubal's .553 OPS against over the past two seasons has only been bested by one player over the last 50 years, minimum 250 innings pitched.

Pedro Martinez had three separate two-year spans that stand above Skubal's, but he is the only one to post a lower mark.

From @EliasSports, about Tarik Skubal, who starts for the Tigers today: Over the past two seasons, the opponent OPS against him is .553. In last 50 years, the only AL pitcher with a lower opponent OPS in two-year span (min: 250 IP) was Pedro Martinez (in three separate two-year…

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 7, 2024

Considering Martinez is a three-time Cy Young, eight-time All-Star and Baseball Hall of Famer, that's some pretty esteemed company for Skubal to join. Martinez going 118-36 with a 2.20 ERA, .940 WHIP and 57.3 WAR between 1997 and 2003 is the kind of stretch that nobody is ever expected to approach again, so even coming close to that kind of success is a major win for Skubal.

Game 2 of the ALDS is scheduled to get underway at 4:08 p.m. ET on Monday. Skubal will be going head-to-head with Matthew Boyd, who went 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.134 WHIP in eight starts this regular season.

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