Tigers' ALCS hopes rest on fiery Skubal: 'He's built for the competition'

CLEVELAND -- The last time Tarik Skubal pitched at Progressive Field, he had what we’ll call a very healthy interaction with Guardians fans on his way off the mound after a key double play in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. The video went viral. The reaction from his mother did, too.

That got a chuckle and a retort from the Tigers ace Friday afternoon ahead of his start in Game 5.

“That’s interesting that my mom went to Twitter,” Skubal said with a wry smile. “You should hear my mom. She wants to make that comment, but I’ve seen her get ejected out of plenty of high school basketball games. I guess it might run in the family.”

More than Dad?

“Oh, I’ve seen my dad do it, too,” Skubal said. “Genetics? I don’t know.”

That’s a pretty good barometer of Skubal’s mood ahead of the biggest start of his career. And if his mood is good, the team will follow. He’s the leader of this team on the mound and in the dugout. And he’s a big reason why the Tigers seemed in good spirits Friday morning at Progressive Field following what could have been a gut-wrenching Game 4 defeat at Comerica Park the night before.

“Yes, you feel more comfortable when he’s on the mound,” outfielder Wenceel Pérez said. “I think with the confidence that he pitches, how he commands, how confident he is attacking guys, when he walks back to the dugout fired up, I think that gives you confidence any time that he’s pitching.

“He’ll just say, ‘I’ve got your back, boys. Just go do your stuff.’”

That isn’t lost on his manager.

“I know how important every game is to him, and I know what it means to send him out to the mound for the confidence in our team,” A.J. Hinch said. “So he's going to handle it like the pro that he is and attack the strike zone, attack the hitters.

“He loves competition. He's into it as much as anybody that I've ever put on the mound, and [there’s] nobody better to give the ball to on the mound in this game than Tarik.”

Said Skubal: “If you ask any player, I think you want the trust and respect of your peers, the guys you go to work with every single day. So I wouldn’t brush that off. I think that means a lot for me to earn that from them. It’s all earned, and I’d say the same thing for those guys.”

This has been a winning formula for the Tigers in the past. The last two times Detroit faced a winner-take-all postseason game, it had Justin Verlander on the mound in Oakland for Game 5 of both the 2012 and ‘13 Division Series. Verlander tossed a four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts for a 6-0 win in ‘12, propelling the Tigers on their path to the World Series. A year later, Verlander’s eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in front of a revenge-minded Coliseum crowd set the tone in a 3-0 victory.

Verlander’s 2012 gem was particularly noteworthy because of the walk-off loss it followed. While the A’s celebrated a three-run ninth inning off José Valverde for a 4-3 win to extend the series the distance, Verlander was already in game mode as he walked through the clubhouse. Even for a star-studded roster that included Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Prince Fielder, that presence made an impression.

“[Skubal’s] going to do the exact same thing he's been doing since Opening Day,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “We're going to go over the hitters the exact same way we've always done. Nothing's going to change. We're going to go attack these guys, and he's going to give it his all.”

And Skubal will get every chance to attack Guardians hitters. For a Tigers team that has made “pitching chaos” into a brand this postseason behind a manager who plays matchups with unwavering calculation, there’s the realization that Skubal is pretty much the best matchup possible for nearly every hitter Cleveland will send to the plate Saturday.

“I love the fact that he's built for the competition,” Hinch said. “Like, he loves the challenge to get [Steven] Kwan out at the top [of the lineup], or José [Ramírez] or assuming [David] Fry is going to be in there, especially after his day yesterday.

“He feeds off of that, and then we feed off of how he handles the competition. We'll have two teams that are locked in on trying to advance and represent now the AL Central in the ALCS. It's an incredible opportunity.”