Skenes vs Skubal Will have to Wait

S. Samek

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers were rained out on Wednesday night. This set the stage for a Thursday doubleheader.

It also set the stage for a possible pitching matchup between Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal in one of those contests. The two are both among the favorites to win a Cy Young award in 2025. Skubal won the 2024 American League Cy Young Award while Skenes finished third in the National League race, but won the Rookie of the year award.

However, fans will have to deal with some disappointment as the anticipated showdown between the two aces isn’t going to happen.

It was announced that Skubal will start game one of the doubleheader for the Tigers while Andrew Heany will oppose him. Skenes will start game two While Detroit has not named a starter for game two.

This was really disappointing to see they won’t get to pitch against each other. I know it was disappointing when it wasn’t supposed to happen naturally based on the way the rotation schedule lined up. Yet to take this matchup away after the postponed game made it possible is even more disappointing. I guess it just gives you a good reason to watch the extra game if you want to see both of them pitch.

Who knows maybe the two will match up as starters in the All-Star Game? Though I would have liked to see the preview of that matchup happen now.

Regardless don’t miss the Skubal and Skenes pitch on the same day. Game one starts at 1:10 PM and game two starts at 5:40 PM.