DETROIT -- When Wednesday’s contest was rained out, Paul Skenes and Andrew Heaney had to sort out which end of Thursday’s doubleheader each pitcher would take. Without knowing who the Tigers would pitch in each game, Heaney preferred the day game. Skenes was agreeable and let the veteran have his pick.
Alas, for the baseball world, that’s how close we came to Skenes vs. Tarik Skubal, a theoretical matchup of two Cy Young favorites. Skubal wanted the day game and got it. The Tigers won that contest, 9-2.
In the nightcap, Skenes turned in his Major League-leading 12th quality start and struck out nine as the Pirates rallied in the 10th inning to beat the Tigers at Comerica Park, 8-4.
Many may be disappointed in missing out on the potential pitching matchup of the season, but not everyone.
"Selfishly, I'm glad that I'm not pitching so I can just kind of dial in and watch him,” Skubal said after his start. “I'm a fan. As much as I play the game, I'm just as big a fan as probably anybody else in the game. I'll be able to watch, and hopefully, we tag him up a little bit. But his stuff's pretty good."
Safe to say the feelings are mutual.
"He's just a complete bulldog out there,” Skenes said. “You talk about predator vs. prey. He's the predator. Always attacking, just attacking the strike zone with his stuff. Obviously, he has really good stuff, and he trusts it.”
Both aces were more wild than usual Thursday, but they still pitched well enough to exit with leads and eventually get their teams a win. Skubal walked a season-high-matching three batters over 5 2/3 innings, striking out six while allowing two runs. Skenes walked five but executed when he needed to go six innings of two-run ball.
It may not have been the greatest showcase of what each pitcher could do, but both pitchers already know what the other is capable of doing.
"I think the way he carries himself is great,” Skubal said. “I ran into him a couple times and the head on his shoulders, he's very mature. He knows his routine. He's bought into what makes him good. And I feel like he's always trying to get better at something, and it shows with who he is on the mound.”
"We obviously do it differently,” Skenes said. “He has probably a couple less pitches than I do and uses his pitches differently, but there's definitely stuff to learn from him with how he uses all his pitches together. It's fun to watch."
Skenes used all seven of his pitches Thursday but leaned more heavily on the four-seamer than usual, throwing it for 53 of 105 pitches. Skubal also went a bit off his season averages, throwing more sinkers and sliders than usual. It’s hard to argue with either result, especially considering Skubal was battling the rain for a good chunk of his outing and Skenes was figuring stuff out on the fly.
"We were just throwing crap up against the wall and seeing what sticks,” Skenes said. “Got some swing and misses when we needed and some weak contact when we needed. It could have gone a lot worse."
Nearing the midway point of the season, both are front runners for the Cy Young, with Skubal being the reigning American League champ and Skenes taking the bronze in his rookie year. According to FanGraphs, Skubal has the most pitcher WAR in baseball (3.8), while Skenes is tied for second with Logan Webb of the Giants (3.2). Skenes leads the National League in innings pitched (102) and has the best ERA among pitchers with enough innings to qualify (1.85). Skubal is fourth in ERA (2.06) and tied for fifth in innings (96).
The two have a good chance to be near the top of the most important pitching categories whenever the season is over. It’s part of why the two have become faces of the franchise and pitching across the league. Skenes’ ascent was quicker than Skubal’s but that’s no strike against the Pirate.
“He's great for the game,” Skubal said. “Everybody wants to watch him play. We need the stars to be on the field for the stars to be good and to make fans want to come to the yard. It's great for everyone involved, including myself."