The Detroit Tigers are having arguably one of the best turnarounds any team has had in recent history.
In August, they were 11 games out of a playoff spot, on Tuesday, they sit alone in the second American League wild-card spot.
The whole Tigers team has been playing some good baseball in the last month or so, but one player stands out among the rest.
According to MLB on ‘X,’ Tarik Skubal has been dominant in his last 9 outings going undefeated in the run.
The @Tigers want #Postseason baseball!
Tarik Skubal is undefeated in his last 9 outings and Detroit has won 12 of its last 15 games. pic.twitter.com/0fPUBCLkxv
— MLB (@MLB) September 24, 2024
It can be argued that Skubal has been dominant the entire 2024 season, but the last 9 outings have been dominant at the exact time the Tigers needed it most.
Skubal appears to be the favorite to win the American League Cy Young award this season and his statistics prove exactly why that is.
On the year, Skubal has a record of 18 wins and 4 losses with a 2.39 earned run average and 228 strikeouts in 192.0 innings pitched.
The Tigers went from having talks of trading their ace at the trade deadline to leaning on him to get them back in the playoff picture.
Tigers fans are thankful that the organization did not decide to completely sell at the deadline and can taste their first postseason appearance since 2014.
With 5 games left to play for the Tigers, they have a 1.5-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race.
They are also a .5 game ahead of the Kansas City Royals for the second American League wild-card spot.
The Tigers are playing their best baseball at the most important time of the year and riding their ace in Skubal.
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