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Tarik Skubal Surpasses Future Hall of Famer in Detroit Tigers Team History

The lefty cemented his American League Cy Young case on Tuesday as the Tigers picked up a critical win in the playoff race.

Brady Farkas

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Detroit Tigers held onto beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday afternoon at Comerica Park. The game had been moved to the afternoon because of impending rain.

The 2-1 win was massive for Detroit, as it moved them to 83-74 on the season and put them in the second wild card spot in the American League playoff picture. They are now 0.5 games ahead of the Kansas City Royals, 1.0 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and 2.0 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. Each of those teams is still to play on Tuesday as well.

As has been the case all year long, Tigers' lefty Tarik Skubal dominated on the mound. The presumptive favorite for the American League Cy Young Award went 7.0 scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and one walk. He struck out seven in moving to 18-4 on the season.

He also has a historic 2.39 ERA, per Chris Brown of TigersMLReport:

Lowest ERA by a Detroit Tigers starting pitcher in the integration era (min 150 IP)

Denny McLain - 1.96 (1969)
Mark Fidrych - 2.34 (1976)
Tarik Skubal - 2.39 (2024)
Justin Verlander - 2.40 (2011)
Mickey Lolich - 2.50 (1972)

Any time you can pass Verlander on a list in team history, you've done something right.

Verlander won 183 games over 13 seasons with the Tigers, helping them get to the World Series in 2006 and 2012. He also made six All-Star teams with Detroit and won a Cy Young Award in 2011.

The Tigers will take on the Rays again on Wednesday.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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