Tarik Skubal's impending Tigers return puts even more pressure on scuffling Guardians

Over the past two weeks, the Cleveland Guardians have faced off against the Aaron Judge-less Yankees six times. 

While the Guardians still lost their most recent series against the Yankees thanks to some late mistakes, they still dodged an Aaron Judge-sized bullet. 

They’re not going to be as lucky against the Tigers today, as Tarik Skubal is set to make his return later today after missing a little more than a month following NanoNeedle surgery to remove loose bodies inside his left elbow. 

Normally the recovery time for such a surgery is anywhere between two to three months, but he’ll have been on the shelf for just five weeks thanks to the innovative surgery. 

Even if the Tigers are still 8 1/2 games behind the Guardians in the American League Central, Skubal’s return obviously makes them a more dangerous team. 

The Guardians are going to face off against Tarik Skubal in his return from injury

And, if that wasn’t enough, that return’s going to come against the Guardians. 

“We’re adding the best pitcher in baseball back to our mix,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters earlier this week. “It’s hard to describe what that boost will be.”

Skubal’s return is happening at the perfect time for the Tigers, who entered this weekend’s series having won six of their last eight games, though the Guardians took their lunch moneyFriday thanks to a dominant outing from Tanner Bibee.

Skubal authored a fantastic season last year, as he had 2.21 ERA in 195 1/3 innings with 241 strikeouts — a performance that helped him win his second straight Cy Young Award. 

He got off to a great start this year and had a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings prior to going on the injured list. He’s also been lights out against the Guardians in his career, as he has a 0.64 ERA in 28 regular season innings against them. 

He also got the best of the Guardians last postseason when he tossed 7 2/3 electric innings in Detroit’s win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. 

For a second last month it looked like Skubal may not get a chance to continue that dominance with the Tigers after Cleveland recorded a dominant sweep over them that kicked the Skubal trade rumor machine into overdrive, but Detroit has been able to settle things down lately thanks to that aforementioned strong run of play. 

And Skubal isn’t the only addition the Tigers are going to get this weekend, as All-Star hurler Casey Mize is set to make the start for Detroit on Sunday after missing two weeks with right groin tightness. 

Not only are the Guardians in the midst of their worst stretch of the year, but now they’re going to face off against the two-time American League Cy Young winner. Their strong play early in the season helped them build a cushion over the Tigers, but Skubal’s return could change that quickly. 

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