Detroit Tigers' Ace Believes There Should be a Team in Oakland

Jason Burke | Sep 8, 2024

Sep 6, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) warms up before the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal grew up in Hayward, Ca, about 20 minutes away from Oakland, and on Friday night he made his final start at the Oakland Coliseum, going 5 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs and nine hits. The A's made him work, just like they did against the Seattle Mariners quartet of excellent starters at the beginning of the week, and ultimately ended up winning Friday's contest the same way they won two of four against the Mariners: via walk-off.

Skubal spoke with Charlotte Varnes of the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday and said he planned to grab some of the dirt on the mound prior to the game. He grew up going to games at the Coliseum, and told Varnes that he believes a team should be in Oakland. "It sucks to see baseball leave."

He's also not terribly excited about the prospect of playing baseball in West Sacramento next season in the triple-digit heat. "They’re going all turf and it’s going to be 115 in the summer, so I just don’t understand how that’s going to work...I heard it’s not going to be the best setup."

Skubal is finishing out a dominant season with the Tigers, with the 27-year-old lefty currently holding a 2.53 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP along with a 16-4 record. In two starts against the A's this season, Skubal has received two no-decisions and allowed six earned runs on 13 hits across 12 innings. In a small sample size, they've made him look like a league average starter, which is not easy to do.

Skubal's 2.53 ERA ranks second among all starting pitchers, trailing just Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, and first in the American League. His WHIP is also second in MLB, trailing just Logan Gilbert of the Seattle Mariners (0.88), and Detroit's southpaw is also first in baseball with 208 strikeouts, one of just four pitchers to cross the 200 mark at this point in the season. Skubal is second in fWAR with 5.3, again trailing just Chris Sale.

He has a really good chance of earning the American League Cy Young award this season, which would make him the first Detroit pitcher since Max Scherzer to take home the honor since 2013.