COMSTOCK PARK – After a near perfect first rehab start on Saturday, Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal looked nearly as strong in his second rehab start with the West Michigan Whitecaps.
Skubal, who injured his left forearm 10 months ago, threw 46 pitches in three innings – 35 for strikes on Friday. He allowed two hits and one unearned run. He struck out six and walked none as he was as fast as 94 miles per hour.
“It felt good. Some two-strike execution could have been better, but physically, I felt good. That is what matters,” Skubal said after his outing. “Last start was pretty efficient. I would love to do that (every time). That is some (Greg) Maddux stuff. But I felt good for three innings.”
On Saturday, Skubal pitched two scoreless innings against the Dayton Dragons in his first rehab start in Class-A (high), needing just 12 pitches to get six outs. His fastball reached 96 miles per hour.
After two innings Saturday, he went three full innings on Friday night at Lake Michigan Credit Union Ballpark, an 8-6 win for the Whitecaps.
“That was kind of the plan. Three innings or 45 pitches, and I was right around there,” he said. “It was just getting back to competing. and getting that adrenaline going. It has been good so far. The toughest part was when you feel good and ready to go, but you can’t play. That was tough mentally.”
But now he is pitching again, and in all types of situations.
“One thing that we cared the most about was that he is healthy,” Whitecaps manager Brayan Pena said. “His fastball looked very powerful and he looked like he was feeling good. He is coming back and it takes a little time. He gave us three strong innings and that is what we want. We wanted to see him attack hitters and in stressful situations from the stretch. He made good pitches and attacked the strike zone. That was the game plan.”
He pitched well with runners on base as well, something that he didn’t face much on Saturday.
“It was good to experience that and work from the stretch,” he said. “Command was pretty good. I got them to expand a little bit after throwing strikes. (Eliezer) Alfonso and I were on the same page both starts and his is great back there.”
In 57 starts and 299 innings in the majors, Skubal is 16-24 with a 4.15 earned run average. He has a 2.9 WAR, 318 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.214.
Skubal pitched in the minors for West Michigan in 2018, going 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA.
He was glad to be back in a familiar place and talk to the Whitecaps players, a position he remembers well.
“You get to come down and play and they let you take over the day. I try to take care of the guys as much of possible,” Skubal said. “There are some really good players and that is the next wave that is going to be in Detroit.”
Watching Skubal interact with the team was something Pena will take away from Skubal’s time with the Whitecaps.
“It was huge. This is one of our heroes. He is a guy we see on TV. He was here at one point, too, which the players know. What impressed me most is that when he finished his outing, he didn’t leave right away. He stayed and talked to the pitchers and the guys,” Pena said. “That says a lot about his character and his leadership and how much he cares about the organization. At the end of the day, some of these guys will be with him in Detroit – hopefully all of them. Hopefully he can remain like that from here to Cooperstown.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.