'You strike me out a lot': Skubal, Salvy share lighthearted moment

DETROIT -- Tarik Skubal is well aware of his career struggles against the Royals, and particularly against Salvador Perez. The Royals’ All-Star reminded him by hitting a first-pitch home run and a first-pitch single in his first two at-bats Friday night, improving him to 10-for-26 with four homers and nine RBIs off Detroit’s ace.

So Skubal could be forgiven for giving thanks that he not only got a first-pitch strike on Perez, but sent him down swinging at a changeup to begin the sixth inning. While Perez broke out laughing, Skubal put his hands together and bowed his head.

“He [asked] me, like, 'How can I get you out?' I told him during the game, 'You strike me out a lot! Thank God I got two hits off you tonight,'” Perez said. “He's a great guy, man. We hung out during the All-Star Game, and I got the opportunity to talk to him for a little bit. He's a good guy.”

Skubal added: "He's a really good hitter, one of the best catchers to ever do it. And my interactions that I had with him over the All-Star break were pretty cool. To have that moment with him, I don't know if he thinks it's special because obviously he struck out, but I think he had a good day off me overall. It was pretty cool, though."

It wasn’t the only gesture from Skubal during the Tigers’ 9-2 loss to the Royals on Friday at Comerica Park. He usually keeps his head down or his eyes staring to the dugout as he walks off the mound at the end of an outing, but as he left the game to a standing ovation with two on and one out in the seventh inning, he put his hands together to applaud the crowd.

“The fans were great tonight, so you tip your cap to that,” Skubal said. “Especially with how we're playing right now too, for them to show up and show out and be loud, you appreciate those things."

The one-run game Skubal left looked unrecognizable by inning’s end after the Royals struck for nine consecutive hits. Skubal gave up five earned runs or more for the first time since July 18 of last year, his third start back from surgery. That, too, came against the Royals.

Thankfully, the sight of Skubal in a Tigers uniform will remain familiar. For all the buzz about a potential trade leading up to Tuesday’s Trade Deadline, evoking memories of the Justin Verlander saga of 2017, there was no blockbuster package of top prospects that president of baseball operations Scott Harris couldn’t refuse -- no irrational offer in a sport full of analytically inclined front offices.

“Not close,” Harris said Tuesday. “There are a lot of rumors that floated out there. There are a lot of unconfirmed reports that are just totally inaccurate. We never came close to trading Skubal.”

Now comes the tricky part: What next?

Skubal has two more years of club control after this season. Unless the Tigers sign him to an extension and/or improve their fortunes, the trade speculation is likely to come up again, whether this coming offseason or next summer. As of now, he’s one of two starters in Detroit’s rotation, with rookie Keider Montero the other. Detroit is likely to use Kenta Maeda for bulk innings Saturday.

The heavy workload the bullpen has shouldered over the last couple weeks might have reflected in Friday’s seventh inning. Shelby Miller gave up hits to all four Royals he faced, followed by three more hits off Beau Brieske.

The short-term conundrum fits the big-picture challenge facing Harris and the Tigers front office: How to get this team to take the next step around Skubal, rather than in exchange for him?

“We have a lot of work to do this year,” Harris said Tuesday. “We have a really important second half for this team, both to continue to demonstrate that we can play competitive baseball for long stretches of time on this field, and we have a lot of young players in the big leagues who need to get a whole lot better. I think you guys have seen some flashes of it.”

The recent stretch, even with the uncertainty of the Trade Deadline gone, has been challenging. The Tigers, with starters missing and Riley Greene injured, have been outscored by a 34-7 margin over their five-game losing streak against division rivals Minnesota, Cleveland and Kansas City. As great as it is for Tigers fans to see Skubal finish out a potential Cy Young season in Detroit, the stretch run can’t just be about him.