Tigers Schedule Superstar Ace’s First Start Since All-Star Game Appearance

Tarik Skubal pitched just one inning in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, so the Detroit Tigers had plenty of options to schedule his next start.

The Tigers have opted to start him on Sunday, on normal rest, against the Texas Rangers, per the Rangers’ official PR account on social media.

What could have been an incredible battle between him and Rangers All-Star Jacob deGrom won’t materialize. The Rangers have decided to hold deGrom out of the series and give him at least eight days’ rest before his next start, which could come as early as Monday.

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Unlike Skubal, deGrom didn’t throw in the All-Star Game. Unlike Skubal, deGrom has two Tommy John surgeries, most recently in 2023.

It’s possible that Skubal is pitching better than a year ago, when he won the American League Cy Young award for the first time.

He is 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 starts, with 153 strikeouts and 16 walks in 121 innings. He a stretch of 15 starts in which he was 10-0 with a 1.74 ERA, with 128 strikeouts and nine walks.

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Last year he was incredible. He went 18-4 with a 2.15 ERA in 31 starts, with 228 strikeouts and 35 walks in 192 innings. He won the American League pitching triple crown and was named All-MLB first team.

He’ll get another showcase on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball at 7:10 p.m. eastern and will face Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

Eovaldi was a Rangers All-Star in 2023, the same year Texas won its first World Series. He might have made the team had he not missed a month of the season due to an arm injury. He returned before the end of the first half.

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Eovaldi (7-3, 1.58) has made 16 starts as has 94 strikeouts and 14 walks in 91 innings. The Rangers recently gave him a $100,000 bonus even though he didn’t make the All-Star team.

Detroit has also set its starter for the opener on Friday at 8:05 p.m. Tigers right-hander Reese Olson (4-3, 2.95) will take on Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin (6-7, 4.15).

Olson is back after missing more than a month with right ring finger inflammation. He returned to the rotation in July and made two starts before the break, both no-decisions. He allowed three earned runs in 9.1 innings. In 11 starts he has 55 strikeouts and 22 walks in 58 innings.  

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Corbin, formerly with the Washington Nationals, has taken the ball every start for Texas this season. He is 3-3 with a 4.73 ERA in his last seven starts. For the year he has 74 strikeouts and 27 walks in 93.1 innings.

The Tigers have not set their Saturday starter for a game set for 7:05 p.m. The Rangers will start rookie right-hander Kumar Rocker (3-4, 6.39).

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