Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers Ace Wins Prestigious Publication’s Top Pitching Award

Published

1 month ago

October 6, 2024

Detroit Tigers Ace Wins Prestigious Publication’s Top Pitching Award

On the eve of the start of the American League Division Series, Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal won the first of what will likely be a wave of postseason awards as Baseball Digest named him its MLB Pitcher of the Year.

Baseball Digest is in its 83rd year as a publication. Last year’s pitcher of the year was New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole, who went on to win the American League Cy Young award.

The Tigers play game one of the ALDS on Saturday at Cleveland. Skubal is expected to start in Game 2 on Monday.

In his first postseason start against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series, he threw six innings and earned the victory. He struck out six.

The 27-year-old just wrapped up the best season of his career and won the AL pitching triple crown, as he led the lead in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

He finished the season 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. Atlanta’s Chris Sale did the same thing in the National League, as he went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

During an interview with MLB Network in September, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said the quiet part out loud about his ace and his breakthrough season.

“Obviously he is the front runner for the Cy Young (award),” Hinch said. “I think he should win it.”

If Skubal is able to win the award, he would become the fifth Detroit pitcher to claim the award and the last to do so since Max Scherzer in 2013. Denny McLain won it twice.

He is also on the All-MLB Team ballot, another honor that is released after the postseason ends.

It’s hard to believe there were rumblings in July that the Tigers might trade him, given that they were well out of the playoff race at the time.

But, the Tigers hung onto him and put together an unprecedented run starting in mid-August — one Skubal anchored in the rotation — to bring home their first playoff berth in a decade.

“He is a frontline starter and when you have those, you want him to pitch every five or six days because he is somebody who can anchor a staff,” Hinch said.

The Tigers drafted him out of Seattle University in 2018. The ninth-round selection moved quickly through the system and made his Majors debut in 2020. This season isn’t just a potential award-winning season for him — it’s a breakthrough season. He hadn’t won more than eight games in a season before, which came in 2021.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit police: Body found in garbage can near public park

Published

3 hours ago

November 9, 2024

Press Room

Detroit police: Body found in garbage can near public park

Police are investigating after a body was found in a garbage can near a Detroit park on Thursday.

Authorities said the body was discovered at 5:10 p.m. in the 20400 block of Omira Street, just south of 8 Mile Road, near Knudsen Park.

Police said Friday night that the person’s sex was unknown and the circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up, or the Major Crimes division of the Detroit Police Detective Bureau at 313-596-2240.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

@max_detroitnews

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers Listed As Shocking Suitor for Milwaukee Brewers Slugger

Published

10 hours ago

November 8, 2024

Press Room

Detroit Tigers Listed As Shocking Suitor for Milwaukee Brewers Slugger

The Detroit Tigers already have plenty of money tied up in the shortstop position, but should that keep them from pursuing one of the best players in free agency?

Pitching chaos led the Tigers on their surprising postseason run with the offense trying to keep up. Heading into the offseason, it is clear what Detroit needs the most should they decide they want to compete.

There are only a couple more guaranteed years of Tarik Skubal in a Tigers uniform. He looks the part of a leader for a World Series team, but they have some work to do in free agency if they want to avoid wasting him.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports expects Detroit to be active in the free agent market as he listed them among the top landing spots for former Milwaukee Brewers star shortstop Willy Adames.

“For the most part, Adames is the same player he has been for years: he’s capable of impacting the baseball frequently enough to overshadow his swing-and-miss tendencies; he’s not a Gold Glove-caliber fielder, but he’ll remain at shortstop for the time being; and so on,” said Anderson. “The one interesting wrinkle he added this season was a newfound willingness and ability to steal bases.”

The 29-year-old is coming off of the best campaign he has put together in years. He posted a .251/.331/.462 slashing line with 32 home runs and 112 RBI.

Maybe most impressive is that he played in 161 games. He has been a very reliable player throughout his career.

This season, the Tigers produced a measly .190/.238/.315 slashing line from their shortstops.

A large portion of that underperformance can be tacked on to ultimate failed signing Javier Baez.

Detroit handed a six-year, $140 million deal to Baez out of free agency and it has been one of the worst contracts in baseball history. He has completely forgotten how to hit a ball since putting on a Tigers uniform.

His deal might be bad enough for Detroit to opt not to spend even more money for another player at the same position.

Having over $300 million tied up in one lineup spot is tough, but playing Baez any more seems like sunk-cost fallacy. They simply cannot expect to be serious competitors with him acting as a black hole in the batting order.

Though they have other intriguing young bats in their card, Adames would immediately be one of their best sluggers.

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Detroit, MI

How to watch the Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – NHL (11/8/24) | Channel, stream, preview

Published

18 hours ago

November 8, 2024

Press Room

How to watch the Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – NHL (11/8/24) | Channel, stream, preview

TORONTO — A tough and busy weekend begins for the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, as they get set for their first half of a back-to-back, taking on an Original Six rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Watch the Detroit Red Wings on FuboTV (7-day free trial)

The Red Wings are starting to find their rhythm once again. After losing three straight games, the team has bounced back to win consecutive games, defeating the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before using rest to put forth a solid effort against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Great games by Alex DeBrincat, captain Dylan Larkin and Cam Talbot helped power Detroit to a 4-1 win, which actually saw the Wings outshoot their opponent for a change.

Detroit is currently tied for fifth in the Atlantic Division in points (13) with the Sabres, but are third based on winning percentage (.542).

The team the Red Wings sit behind is the Maple Leafs. Though they have been without their captain, Auston Matthews, for the last few days, it did not necessarily slow down the team on Tuesday when they shut out the Boston Bruins. With wins in three of their last five games, Toronto is trying to find that groove they had early on in the season, using their offensive depth to outscore their opponents.

This will be the first of four meetings this season between the longtime rivals. The Leafs won two of the three matchups with the Wings last season.