Tarik Skubal lost all of four games in 2024 as he dominated batters with a Triple Crown season that captured him the American League Cy Young award. The hard-throwing southpaw began 2025 on a different path, losing his first two starts during the Detroit Tigers' season-opening road trip. But it's marathon and not a sprint and Skubal has looked like his world-beating self over his past two starts—racking up 13 shutout innings and 15 strikeouts without issuing a single walk.

On Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, Skubal twirled seven shutout innings and collected nine strikeouts in a 9-1 victory. Yet the lopsided score did little to dampen his enthusiasm for the big moment as he proved after striking out Rhys Hoskins to escape a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning and preserve his shutout.

The ace managed to channel a reaction perfectly suited for September or even October despite holding a 9-0 lead at the time in a game taking place before the tax deadline.

Of course, this is exactly what fans and front office want from their horse. It doesn't matter that Hoskins would have had to hit two grand slams during the at-bat and the Tigers still would have retained a one-run edge. Skubal cannot abide going to sleep with an ERA over 2.00 and even though he dropped his to 2.66 with the elite performance, it's still not enough.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cy Young Winner Still Immensely Fired Up By April Strikeout With a 9-Run Lead.

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