A rough outing for Tarik Skubal in his return to action

Yesterday (Saturday), the Tigers received a rare piece of good news amid a particularly difficult 2026 season. Their ace pitcher and two-time Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal, made his return to the mound after a relatively long absence. Skubal was back in the rotation against the Tigers' American League Central Division rivals, the Cleveland Guardians.

The 29-year-old returned much sooner than expected after suffering a left elbow injury last May that led to surgery.

Instead of undergoing full elbow surgery, as many expected, he had arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow. And instead of needing several rehab starts before returning to the majors, he needed only one—last Sunday's outing in West Michigan in Double-A.

But yesterday, he wasn't facing the bats of the third tier of the minor leagues anymore, but rather those of the biggest league in the world. And it showed.

Skubal allowed five hits and three earned runs in his team's 3-1 loss. He struck out four batters and walked one over four and two-thirds innings, throwing 80 pitches, 53 of which were strikes.

The left-hander also gave up a home run to Daniel Schneemann in the third inning, with Schneemann driving in another run in the game.

However, the pitcher himself isn't looking for excuses for this subpar performance.

I don't really want to play into this narrative of trying to make a comeback. I need to improve, and it's simple and clear. I think if I'm just happy to be here, that's a bit of a loser's mentality for me.

Skubal is scheduled to pitch again on Friday at home against the Chicago White Sox.

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