Tarik Skubal drops truth bomb on Opening Day start vs. Dodgers..
Reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will make his second career Opening Day start, facing off against the Dodgers.
It took Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal five seasons to fully figure things out on the mound but man, did he ever figure things out in 2024. Skubal anchored the rotation for a Tigers team that surprisingly made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. Detroit finished the season with its first winning record since 2016. Skubal racked up an MLB-best 18 wins in 2024 en route to winning the Cy Young Award.
Skubal’s remarkable year didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. Things began to click for the big lefty in 2023 after he returned from flexor tendon surgery. He drew the Opening Day start for the Tigers in 2024 and, predictably, Skubal will be on the bump to begin Detroit’s 2025 campaign against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“You get to face the reigning champs on Day 1. You see how their offseason was and you see that lineup, it’ll be fun. In their home park, too… I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Skubal said per The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen.
“You don’t know how many Opening Days you’re gonna start in your career. It’s an honor to start two of them,” he added.
Tarik Skubal is ready for another special season with the Tigers..
The Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 and have only improved since then, going on a wild spending spree this offseason. But if there’s a pitcher prepared to handle the super lineup in LA, it’s Skubal. In addition to Cy Young honors, the Tigers’ hurler won the pitching triple crown in 2024, leading the American League in ERA (2.39), strikeouts (228) and wins (18). He actually led the majors in strikeouts and wins, putting together an utterly dominant season.
The Tigers rewarded Skubal for his remarkable year, avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $10.15 million deal. Skubal still has two years remaining under team control before hitting free agency in 2027 – assuming the Tigers don’t sign him to a long term extension before then.
Skubal is considered the best starting pitcher in baseball according to an MLB Network fan poll. And while the pressure is on for him to repeat his dominant 2024 campaign and lead Detroit back to the postseason, he’ll have some help. The Tigers improved the rotation by bringing back Jack Flaherty this offseason. The team traded Flaherty to the Dodgers at the deadline last year when it seemed as if the organization had no hope of making a playoff run.
