A.J. Hinch Shares His Thoughts Ahead of Tarik Skubal’s Return to Detroit
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The Detroit Tigers' 2026 season hasn't gone the way many expected. Beginning the season with a Top-10 payroll in Major League Baseball to now barely staying relevant in the AL Wild Card race with a 62-71 record.
Dropping a series at Comerica Park this week to the Tampa Bay Rays lowered the Tigers' playoff odds to below three percent, according to FanGraphs. Just to add insult to injury, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to Detroit to take on the Tigers, sending one of their former players to the mound in game one.
Back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, who was traded to the Dodgers ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline by the Tigers, returns to Detroit for the first time following the trade to make his first career start against the team that drafted him in the ninth round.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch knows the level of importance this weekend series holds, as well as the emotions that will be present in game one with Skubal on the mound.
Hinch's Thoughts on Skubal's Return to Detroit
In an interview with 97.1 The Ticket, Hinch spoke on his thoughts on Skubal returning, breaking it down into two perspectives.
"We've got to separate two things. Obviously, there's going to be the awkward weirdness of having him go to the other bullpen," Hinch said. "I'm sure the fans and the organization will hat tip him in some way, and then you've got to separate the player out there throwing pellets to the plate."
"We know how he's going to pitch, we know when he's good, we know what he struggles with, and you separate the player and the person."
Hinch knows that the Tigers offense will have a tall task to take down one of their former teammates, but these are professional baseball players, and can adapt to the game, whoever is on the mound. However, Hinch also knows the 'pit in the stomach' feeling with a familiar face on the other side competing against you.
"I do think there's this pit in your stomach that comes with seeing your old players," Hinch said. "We haven't done that the last couple of years, and if it has been, it's been a DFA or it's been somebody who's been replaced, not a trade like this. Tarik's tough to face and it's tougher to face him in the same year in which he wore your uniform."
Since his trade to Los Angeles, Skubal holds a 3.38 ERA in four starts, striking out 30 and walking seven. The Tigers offense will need to be on their best game to take down Skubal, but crazier things have happened with this team in the past, to the point where nothing is impossible.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.