Opposing Ace Makes Surprising Comments About Philadelphia Phillies Lineup

The Philadelphia Phillies were severely overmatched against the reigning AL Cy Young winner.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies were rolling until they ran into Tarik Skubal on Saturday.

The Detroit Tigers ace shut down their red-hot offense on Saturday in an entertaining pitching duel with Phillies ace Zack Wheeler.

Not surprisingly, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Both starters were excellent.

Wheeler yielded two runs (both unearned) on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts over five frames, showing why he was the NL Cy Young runner-up last year.

However, the reigning AL Cy Young winner was a bit better, limiting Philadelphia's superior lineup to two runs on six hits over five innings. He walked none and struck out seven.

Skubal flummoxed the Phillies with his elite velocity and command, reaching 100 mph on the radar gun and throwing 57 of his 68 pitches (84%) for strikes.

It was just another day at the office for the 28-year-old lefty, who's 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 15/1 K/BB ratio in four spring starts.

"That's who I am," said Skubal after the game, seemingly bored by his latest gem.

Tarik Skubal hit 100 on the gun & threw 11 balls to 20 Phillies hitters today, then said:

A) "That's who I am."

And B) he wanted to make this trip & face the Phillies because "you get to come on the road in spring and kind of see where you're at (by) facing really good…

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) March 15, 2025

However, Skubal still went out of his way to praise Philadelphia's hitters, even though they didn't have much success against him.

He called them "really good" and said they stack up with "anybody in the big leagues."

For most pitchers, facing Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos -- all former All-Stars -- consecutively would be a nightmare.

But Skubal was looking forward to it, and he made it look easy.

He came out firing, whiffing Turner, Bohm and Schwarber in the bottom of the first and retiring six of the first seven batters he faced.

He also limited hard contact and did not allow an extra-base hit.

Skubal's arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now, so there's no shame in having a bad day against him.

The Phillies just better hope they don't have to face him in October.