Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Makes MLB Postseason History With Dominance on the Mound
In this story:
The Detroit Tigers' 2025 season was on the line Friday night in Game 5 of their ALDS matchup with the Seattle Mariners. Luckily for them, they had their best player, Tarik Skubal, toeing the rubber for the game.
The soon-to-be back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner had all of the pressure on him. It was the exact same situation he stared down in 2024 when his Tigers faced off with the Cleveland Guardians in a winner-take-all Game 5 in the ALDS.
That time around, Skubal was unable to will his team to a victory. After not allowing runs in his first two outings, the Guardians got to him for five runs in six innings to eliminate Detroit from the postseason.
This time, the star lefty was up for the task. He made history in his six innings of work, striking out 13 batters. That is the most strikeouts recorded in a winner-take-all playoff game and was just the start of the history being made.
Tarik Skubal Racks up Historic Amount of Strikeouts this Postseason
As shared by Sarah Langs of MLB.com on X, Skubal is the first pitcher in MLB history to record 13+ strikeouts multiple times in the same postseason. Bob Gibson and Gerrit Cole are the only other pitchers to record multiple games of 13+ strikeouts in their postseason careers.
Tarik Skubal is the first pitcher in postseason history with multiple 13+ strikeout games in a single postseason
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 11, 2025
Only others with two in a postseason career:
Bob Gibson
Gerrit Cole
The Tigers' ace is one of the best strikeout artists in baseball currently. He led the AL with 228 punchouts in 2024. This year, he had a career-high 241 in the regular season, finishing second only to Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox, who had 255.
That strikeout prowess has carried right over into the postseason. In addition to his single-game history, Skubal has recorded the most strikeouts in a three-game span in the history of the MLB playoffs.
He struck out a franchise-tying 14 in his first start of the 2025 playoffs against the Guardians. In his next outing against the Mariners, he had nine strikeouts. In start No. 3, Friday night, he racked up 13, giving him 36 in total.
As shared by nugget chef on X, that has beaten Gibson’s previous record, set in 1968, by one. With the St. Louis Cardinals that year, he had 35 strikeouts. Third on the list is Cliff Lee, who had 34 strikeouts in a three-game postseason stretch with the Texas Rangers.
Most Strikeouts over 3-Start Span
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) October 11, 2025
Single Postseason - MLB History
Tarik Skubal (2025): 36
Bob Gibson (1968): 35
Cliff Lee (2010): 34https://t.co/31QuGOtteE
Already possessing an incredibly strong case as the best starting pitcher in baseball, performing at this level under the bright lights of the postseason just cements Skubal’s standing.
More Tigers News
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.