Tarik Skubal was fired up.
The Tigers ace got out of fifth-inning jam against the White Sox on Friday as he struck out Colson Montgomery with two outs and the bases loaded in a tied game.
And the two-time AL Cy Young winner had some fighting words after the strikeout, as he took aim at Chicago pitcher Mike Vasil and seemingly said, “Yeah, you.”
Vasil was none too pleased, as he appeared to shout back: “Sit your f—ing ass down,” according to a Jomboy breakdown of the exchange.
That only appeared to anger Skubal even more, though, as he seemingly yelled: “Keep doing it!” and allegedly called his opponent a “f–ker.’
Vasil sent an f-bomb back Skubal’s way, and seemingly added that “nobody talked s–t,” implying that Skubal was the first one to stir things up.
Ultimately, it was a productive night for Skubal and the Tigers, as he notched eight strikeouts and allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 win.
The Tigers need every win they can come by right now if they hope to see Skubal stay with the team for the remainder of the year.
Skubal is a pending free agent and rumors are already lingering that he will be the top target for contenders. The Tigers are 31-44 and 6 1/2 games out of the final AL wild-card spot entering Saturday.
“The reality of the situation is, we need to play better baseball,” Skubal told the Detroit News in an interview published earlier this week. “I’ve said that before, and I’ll continue to say that. My belief in this group has never changed. But the reality is, we need to play better baseball, or else come the deadline, you give the front office an option to reassess where this team is.
“And if they don’t think what we have is a World Series- or playoff-caliber team, then the whole team is going to look different. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
