Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is being scratched from tonight’s start versus the visiting Red Sox, as first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Details aren’t yet known, though Heyman adds that the move is believed to be precautionary in nature. Manager A.J. Hinch is meeting with reporters shortly and will provide more info on the reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner.
Skubal has been his typically excellent self so far in 2026. He’s started seven games, totaled 43 1/3 innings and notched a tidy 2.70 ERA to begin the season. His average fastball is down about a mile per hour relative to last year’s 97.6 mph peak, but this year’s 96.6 mph average is right in line with his 2024 levels, when he won the first of his two Cy Young trophies. Skubal has fanned 27.1% of his opponents against a superlative 3.6% walk rate.
Obviously, any absence for Skubal — even if it’s simply pushing his start back a few days — is going to sound some alarm bells. He’s not necessarily having the strongest start of any pitcher in the sport, but his track record makes him the consensus best pitcher in the American League, if not all of Major League Baseball. Even a short-term absence is a major loss, and of course any health issues that arise could be talking points during what’s expected to be a historic trip through free agency this offseason.
More to come.
