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Tarik Skubal pinpointed a 2-1 slider Wednesday night, forcing Atlanta Braves slugger Matt Olson to swing and miss. The Detroit Tigers' ace then signaled for catcher Dillon Dingler to come to the mound at Truist Park.
The back-to-back Cy Young award winner started shaking his left pitching arm, grasping his forearm near his elbow.
GASP!
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and a trainer made a trip to the mound, assured by Skubal that he was fine. After a few warmup pitches, Skubal proved it, striking out Olson on the next pitch, a 96-mph fastball.
He also struck out Austin Riley and Mauricio Dubon, capping his seven-inning effort with a swinging strike on his first curveball of the outing.
Facing one of MLB's hottest teams, Skubal overcame the injury scare and continued to induce key double plays to limit the Braves, who had won five of their past six games, to two earned runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked none.
The Braves earned a 4-3 victory on Olson's walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Tigers closer Kenley Jansen (0-2), his third blown save in 10 outings.
Tigers' Tarik Skubal gets early Cy Young notice
Protecting a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday, Skubal showed why he remains an early favorite to capture a third consecutive AL Cy Young award.
After surrendering a single to Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II, who is putting together a career season, Skubal escaped the frame by forcing Jonah Helm to bounce into a double play.
An inning earlier, Olson led off with a single, but the next batter, Riley, grounded into another double play.
Skubal is gaining a knack for getting double plays this season.
After executing 10 double-play pitches in 2025. Including the two against the Braves, Skubal has already created nine in seven starts this season.
If he continues to get batters to ground into double plays consistently, Skubal likely will remain an in-season favorite to earn a third Cy Young honor.
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