Detroit Tigers Manager Clears Up Comments About Tarik Skubal’s Workload
The Detroit Tigers are trending right now, thanks to a great run the past few weeks that has helped them cut their deficit for the final American League wild card berth to less than five games.
The Tigers lost to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, but they’re still a game over .500 as they host the Boston Red Sox on Friday at Comerica Park. The team, overall, is on an upturn.
Pitcher Tarik Skubal, a front-runner for the AL Cy Young award, is a big reason why Detroit is inching back in the race. His boss, manager A.J. Hinch made waves after his left-hander’s last start on Sunday in the Little League Classic against the New York Yankees.
Hinch hinted to reporters that the game might be Skubal’s last on normal rest. That had people wondering if Detroit would work to manage his workload the rest of the season, or would even go so far as to shut him down.
The manager spoke with MLB Network before Thursday’s game and he was asked if the Tigers’ recent upturn was having him second-guessing the notion.
He said no, and he also offered clarification on why Skubal would likely pitch with more rest for the remainder of the season — and it has nothing to do with managing his innings.
“What a lot of people didn’t do was look at the schedule,” Hinch said. “We have off-days galore in September.”
Skubal is set to pitch against on Saturday against Los Angeles on an extra day of rest. The Tigers have at least one off-day each week in September and Hinch is right — Skubal likely won’t pitch every fifth day simply due to the schedule.
Next week the Tigers are off on Tuesday due to a quirk when they travel to San Diego. That should push everyone back a day and put Skubal in the Friday game against Oakland.
Following that, Detroit has an off-day on Sept. 9 after the Oakland series. That, again, would push Skubal back a day to Sept. 12 and a home game against Colorado.
The following week is one where Skubal could pitch on normal rest. The Tigers aren’t off until the following Thursday, so the lefty could pitch against Kansas City on Sept. 17. If the Tigers are still in the race, he’s an option.
If he does pitch on normal rest against Kansas City, the Tigers have a day off before and after their series with Baltimore, which would offer Skubal up to seven days’ rest, and perhaps one more start to end the season against Tampa Bay.
So there’s no operation shut down here. Just a manager looking at the calendar and understanding the situation.
“There are some natural things that are going to create some rest for him,” Hinch said. “Let me tell you, about every five, six days, when we get him on the mound, it's fun to watch him pitch and I have the best seat in the house.”
