Tarik Skubal exchanged words with Mike Vasil after a bases-loaded strikeout in the top of the fifth inning on June 19 at Comerica Park. The left-hander was already deep into a 94-pitch outing, and the moment came after he stranded the bases loaded by striking out Colson Montgomery for the third time in as many plate appearances.
That exchange came in the middle of a game in which Skubal later allowed two solo home runs, one to Randal Grichuk in the first inning and another to Junior Perez with one out in the sixth. The pitch mix told part of the story too: both homers came on his changeup.
Tarik Skubal and Mike Vasil
Skubal walked toward the dugout after the strikeout, and the words between him and Vasil followed. The confrontation stood out because it came after a high-leverage pitch with the bases loaded, not after a routine out.
June 19 was only Skubal’s second start since returning from the injured list. He had missed 38 days because of a bone chip in his left elbow that required minimally invasive surgery, so the outing carried more weight than a standard mid-June start.
Colson Montgomery in the Fifth
The fifth inning became the hinge point. Skubal needed 26 pitches in that frame alone, a heavy load inside a 5⅔-inning start that ended with three runs allowed on seven hits and one walk, plus eight strikeouts.
Montgomery’s third strikeout of the game left the bases loaded and kept the inning from turning into a bigger inning for the Chicago White Sox. Skubal still finished with enough swing-and-miss to show his ceiling, but the damage on two changeups left the final line less clean than the strikeout sequence suggested.
Comerica Park on June 19
The outing fit the larger picture of a pitcher still working back into rhythm after 38 days away. Skubal is the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner, and the contrast between the fifth-inning surge and the later home runs is the kind of split that can define a comeback start.
For the Detroit Tigers, the important read was not just the confrontation itself. It was the combination of 94 pitches, 26 in one inning, and two solo homers after a key strikeout that showed both the sharp edge and the remaining volatility in Skubal’s return.
