Tarik Skubal Throwing Complete Game Shutout Against Guardians Has Fans HYPED Up: “Best in the Game”

Tarik Skubal threw a complete game shutout against the Guardians on Sunday and picked up 13 strikeouts in 94 pitches.

Tarik Skubal Throwing Complete Game Shutout Against Guardians Has Fans HYPED Up: “Best in the Game”

Tarik Skubal (Image via The Boston Globe)

On Sunday, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal dominated the Cleveland Guardians. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner threw a complete game shutout which left the fans on social media hyped up.

The Tigers and the Guardians participated in a three-game series this weekend. The Cleveland-based outfit took the first 2 games and closed down the gap between their division rivals at the top of the AL Central.

The final game of the series saw Skubal take to the mound. In front of a jam-packed crowd at the Comerica Park, the 28-year-old stunned the Guardians with a dominating performance.

His previous start against the Guardians was one of the toughest games he had. He started the decisive Game 5 in the American League Division Series (ALDS). Guardians’ Lane Thomas smashed a grand slam off Skubal, which helped them advance to the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

The right-handed pitcher restricted his opponents to just 2 hits through 9 innings. He managed to pick up 13 strikeouts and threw a “Maddux“, a complete-game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. In this game, Skubal threw 94 pitches, out of which 72 were strikes.

Skubal’s 13 strikeouts were the highest by any pitcher in a Maddux. The previous record was 12, held by Carlos Carrasco (2014), Cliff Lee (2011), and Sandy Koufax (1964). This was also the first time Skubal pitched in the 9th inning. He ended the proceedings on Sunday with a 103 mph fastball.

Social media reacts to Tarik Skubal’s performance against Guardians

Following the loss in Game 5 of the ALDS last year, Tarik Skubal was motivated to perform better against the Cleveland Guardians than he did last time out. The Cy Young Award winner proved why he was honored with such an important award with a huge showing on Sunday.

Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal (Image via X/@MLB)

Skubal throwing a ‘Maddux’ against the Guardians ignited wild celebratory reactions from the fans. One fan wrote, “Best in the game,” while reacting to this performance from Skubal.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Skubal now has a 5-2 record in 11 games this year. With the shutout from this match, he has lowered his ERA to 2.49 and has 92 strikeouts as well.

MLB insider lauds Tarik Skubal’s 13K performance against Guardians

Tarik Skubal was lights out against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon. The pitcher picked up 13 strikeouts, the most by any pitcher in a shutout which was thrown in less than 100 pitches. An MLB insider would laud him for his performance on social media.

Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal (Image via X/@MLBNetwork)

While taking to his X account, MLB insider Jeff Passan expressed that this performance from him was “as good of a game as you’re ever going to see“. He would then break down the stat line of the Tigers’ ace from this game.

Tarik Skubal just threw as good of a game as you’re ever going to see. His start against Cleveland: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 K 94 pitches, 72 strikes Final pitch: 102.6 mph, the hardest of his career 26 swings and misses First CG of his career.

In the press conference, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt would echo the words of several people and labeled Skubal as the “best pitcher” in the game at the moment.

He just came right after us. It’s an 11:35 game, he’s throwing 97-99. He’s the best. He’s the best pitcher in baseball, and he showed it today.

With this performance from Skubal, the Detroit Tigers avoided getting swept by the Guardians. The win from this game extended the gap between the two teams at the top of the AL Central by 4 games.

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