Tarik Skubal continues building his case for back-to-back Cy Young awards, turning in another dominant performance Thursday against Cleveland that moved him into second place in MLB strikeouts.
The Tigers’ ace struck out nine batters over six innings, allowing just one run on seven hits and two walks against the Guardians. It’s his ninth quality start in his last 11 outings.
Those nine strikeouts pushed Skubal to 233 for the season, setting a new career high and moving him past his own 2024 total of 228 that led the majors. Only Garrett Crochet sits ahead of him in this year’s strikeout race.
Tarik Skubal notches his 229th K, setting a new career high! pic.twitter.com/YTdKFcGOSM
— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2025
The 28-year-old southpaw has somehow gotten even better than his 2024 Cy Young campaign. After leading the AL in ERA and ERA+ last season while topping the majors in WAR, wins and strikeouts, Skubal’s 2025 numbers are even more impressive.
He leads the American League in both ERA and WAR this season. He’s also setting the pace across all of baseball in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
What makes this different is the consistency. Skubal’s been a two-time All-Star, but this level of sustained dominance puts him in rare company among active pitchers.
Tarik Skubal, 102 MPH Jet Fuel. pic.twitter.com/aKcXqoREcW
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 18, 2025
The individual brilliance couldn’t prevent a team setback, though. Cleveland completed a sweep of Detroit on Thursday, cutting the Tigers’ AL Central lead to 3.5 games.
That’s where things get interesting for Detroit’s playoff hopes. The Guardians have won seven straight and 12 of their last 13 games, keeping serious pressure on the division race.
These teams will see each other again in five days for their final series of the season in Cleveland. By then, Skubal’s second straight Cy Young award should be all but locked up, but the division title is still very much in play.
