Tigers' Tarik Skubal set to return vs. Guardians

Two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will be back on the mound Saturday for the Detroit Tigers, a mere 38 days after surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow.

Skubal (3-2, 2.70 ERA) will oppose fellow left-hander Joey Cantillo (4-3, 4.57) of the Guardians in an afternoon matchup in Cleveland.

The game will represent Skubal's first start since April 29 at the Atlanta Braves.

"They're the Detroit Tigers, and we have so much history with them," Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said. "We take all of these games really important. They know us, we know them. It's good baseball."

Skubal's impending free agency is one of the sport's hottest topics, and it will be until the trade deadline passes in early August. Unless Detroit can move back into contention, it's conceivable that it will deal Skubal once he proves he's healthy enough to take a regular turn in the rotation.

The Tigers fell 8 1/2 games behind the Guardians and nine in back of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central after losing the series opener to Cleveland on Friday. Tanner Bibee and a pair of relievers combined on a two-hitter in a 3-2 victory as the Guardians ended a four-game skid.

"We just couldn't get anything going against Bibee," Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. "He had a really low pitch-count the whole way through, and this isn't an easy bullpen to get runs off of when you get down."

Skubal has been virtually unhittable against the Guardians over the past four seasons, fashioning a 1.19 ERA over 53 innings, with 63 strikeouts and a 3-1 record. His career regular-season numbers against Cleveland are 3-3 with a 2.33 ERA in 12 games, all starts.

Cleveland has won 10 of its last 11 regular-season matchups with Detroit, but the clubs have split playoff series in the last two years. The Guardians won the AL Division Series in 2024 and lost their wild-card matchup in 2025.

"Starting this series off with a win and putting us in the driver's seat for the next three days is a big deal," Bibee said. "We've just got to keep it going."

Detroit made a flurry of roster moves Friday and will have to make several more to activate Skubal and right-hander Casey Mize (right adductor inflammation) to start the next two contests.

"Just a lot of moving parts," Hinch said. "And we're going to have more. This is just the beginning."

Their comebacks temporarily have forced the Tigers to use a six-man rotation, but losing Jack Flaherty after three innings to a left leg injury Friday could alter that plan. He slipped on the mound after throwing a pitch to Chase DeLauter in the first inning.

Troy Melton and Framber Valdez will start for the Tigers on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, at the Houston Astros. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander (left hip inflammation) could slot in Wednesday but currently is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.

"There are a lot of names and a lot of quality pitchers in that mix," Hinch said. "And we want our best pitchers to pitch."

Cantillo has been trending downward, allowing 15 earned runs over 11 innings in his last three starts. He did toss 5 2/3 shutout innings in a 3-1 win at Detroit on May 21, giving him a 1-0 record and an 0.77 ERA in three career games against the Tigers.

A second straight sellout crowd is expected in Cleveland, which would be its fourth in 36 dates this year.

"We were excited, and I think the crowd was, too, to see the Tigers," Kwan said. "They were live tonight."

--Field Level Media