PHOENIX — Tarik Skubal’s father, Russ, took in the scene from his seat in section 116 as the sun began to peak through the windows at Chase Field on Friday night. He has seen his son take the mound in a Major League ballpark before, but this outing in downtown Phoenix was extra special for the Skubal family.
Normally, Russ would need to board an airplane to see Tarik pitch, but instead, he drove 194 miles from his home in Kingman, Ariz., in the morning. The town, with a population of roughly 35,000, is commonly used as a pit stop for travelers trekking between Las Vegas and Phoenix. It became home to the Skubals in 2006 when they moved from Fairfield, Calif.
“It’s pretty cool to think that in high school, he used to play at the Diamondbacks’ Spring Training facility,” Russ said before the Tigers’ 13-0 win over the D-backs. “Then to come watch games here and now he gets to pitch on the big boy mound. It’s simply surreal.”
For the first time in Tarik’s Major League career, he pitched in the state where he graduated high school and developed into a young, promising hurler. He seized the moment by twirling six scoreless innings of one-hit baseball, striking out six batters and not allowing a baserunner until the fifth. He lowered his ERA to 1.80, the fifth lowest in MLB as he continues to add to his impressive 2024 campaign.
“I was probably a little more nervous for this start than I normally am,” Skubal said. “Just because you want to put on a good performance in front of family and friends. And they want to see you succeed, too. I was probably a little amped up and a little more nervous, but it’s all good things.”
