Sunday Notes: Tarik Skubal versus Hunter Brown Was a Modern-Day Pitchers’ Duel

Tarik Skubal and Hunter Brown matched up at Comerica Park earlier this week, and the aces didn’t disappoint. In a game Detroit won 1-0 in 10 innings, the Tigers southpaw fanned 10 batters through seven stellar innings, while the Houston Astros right-hander tossed six scoreless frames with half a dozen strikeouts. In terms of modern-day pitchers’ duels, this was nearly as good as it gets.

On pace to win his second straight AL Cy Young Award, Skubal is currently 11-3 with a 2.32 ERA and a 33.1% strikeout rate. Brown, who is fast establishing himself as one of baseball’s best pitchers, is 10-5 with a 2.36 ERA and a 29.3% strikeout rate. Both cook with gas. Skubal’s fastball ranks in the 91st percentile for velocity, while Brown’s ranks in the 83rd percentile.

A few hours before they went head-to-head, I asked Detroit manager A.J. Hinch how — left and right aside — the two hurlers compare.

“I know my guy, and don’t know Hunter as well — how he goes about it or how he prepares — but if you’re looking at who has the best fastballs in the league, you’re going to look at both of those guys,” replied Hinch. “If you look at who has elite secondary pitches, both do. Tarik will use his changeup more than Hunter will. I just think there’s an it factor that comes with a guy where, when we come to a ballpark and Tarik is pitching, we expect to win. I’m sure when Hunter is pitching, the Astros expect to win. That’s the definition of top of the rotation.”

Which brings us to the baker’s dozen innings they combined to throw on Tuesday night. Once upon a time, it would have been several more. For much of baseball history, pitchers who were dealing were generally allowed to keep dealing. The legendary July 2, 1963 matchup between San Francisco’s Juan Marichal and Milwaukee’s Warren Spahn is a case in point. That afternoon, Marichal threw 16 scoreless innings, while Spahn (at age 42, no less) tossed 15-and-a-third of his own — only to then be taken deep by Willie Mays for the game’s only run.

Have Skubal or Brown ever thought about what it would be like to pitch in a bygone era, one in which their matching of zeros would almost certainly have extended through nine or more innings? I asked them that question the following day.

“It would be cool, but I don’t think I have enough in the tank to go 10 or 11 innings,” Skubal said. “That’s not really how I prepare to go out there and pitch. I know that I wouldn’t have been throwing 97-100 [mph] if it were 40-50 years ago. Even 10 years ago, we were talking about 93-94 being top of the league. The game is in a much different place now. If you throw 93-94, that’s hitting speed.

“Lefties are probably closer to 87-88, and I could probably make 500 throws a day at 87-88 and be fine,” continued Skubal. “But I’m out here at 97-100, and I can’t make 150 throws at 97-100. I did pitch pretty deep into the game last night — I went seven — so while those kinds of matchups are cool, I don’t really think about what it would be like.”

Brown’s thoughts were similar.

“All the data, and stuff like that, makes it difficult to pitch like they did back then,” the Detroit-area native told me. “Forty or 50 years ago you had your get-me-over fastball and maybe you’d throw 150 pitches, but nowadays that’s not how it is.

“Would it be fun to throw 10 innings against him? Absolutely,” Brown added. “That would be a good time. But I don’t know that 150 [pitches] would be fun. The 150 or 200 [pitches] thing they used to do… I mean, guys threw 50 complete games in a season at one time. That’s crazy.”

Here is some history.

The most combined innings in one game by starters who didn’t allow a run is 34. On July 2, 1933, Carl Hubbell tossed 18 scoreless frames for the New York Giants, while Tex Carleton went 16 scoreless for the St. Louis Cardinals before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.

More recent scoreless duels aren’t nearly as extreme, but they do reflect how much the game has changed. Per Stathead’s Katie Sharp, there have been just three games in the last 20 years where both starters went nine or more innings without allowing a run:

April 18, 2012: Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee and San Francisco’s Matt Cain.

May 12, 2011: Baltimore’s Zack Britton and Seattle’s Jason Vargas.

July 10, 2010: Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay and Cincinnati’s Travis Wood.

Having both starters going nine or more innings regardless of the score has also been uncommon. That has happened 11 times over the past two decades, most recently on April 16, 2014 with Cliff Lee (still pitching for the Phillies) and Atlanta’s Julio Teheran turning the trick.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Tino Martinez went 18 for 47 against Brad Radke.

Chris Chambliss went 18 for 45 against Dennis Eckersley.

Joe Pepitone went 22 for 42 against Sonny Siebert.

Jason Giambi went 23 for 37 against Darren Oliver.

Wally Pipp went 23 for 55 against Rollie Naylor.

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Back in June, a piece titled What if a Pronator — Not a Supinator — Threw a Kick Change? ran here at FanGraphs. Addressing that question were three MLB pitching coaches and a pitching trainer from Tread Athletics. Their respective responses were a mixed bag.

Last weekend, I learned from another MLB pitching coach — Miami’s Daniel Moskos — that it is not only possible, it has proven to work for at least one hurler.

“Those are just biases, the ways they are going to prefer to accomplish a task,” Moskos said to the subject at hand. “These are major league athletes, professional athletes, so they can find other ways to accomplish tasks. With a guy who is a natural pronator, if you give him a kick change you’re going to have to cue it to create the cut-spin that you need for the pitch to really work. Ryan Gusto is an example. He’s a natural pronator, and we gave him a kick change. We cued him to cut it, or throw a football — it’s whatever cue resonates with a guy to stay slightly more supinated than he would otherwise.”

The reason behind having the 26-year-old try a kick change despite his not being a natural supinator?

“His old [changeup] was incredibly volatile,” Moskos explained. “Sometimes it would have some depth, but sometimes it would be really flat-shaped. What this did was kill depth consistently. It also gave him a grip he was confident in and trusted. The other grip he was using was a little bit unique, and a little bit awkward, so he struggled to have the confidence to throw it aggressively. This one he was able to land. We took it from catch play into a game — a major league game — and he had some success with it. It was a pretty cool thing to see.”

Moskos recalled Gusto averaging four to five inches of vert (above the zero line) in his August 9 start against the Atlanta Braves, whereas he’d previously been in the eight-to-10 range. At the pitching coach explained, “It’s about setting up the seam orientation; that’s what you’re chasing.”

As for exploring atypical ways to make a pitch better… let’s just say that Moskos and the Marlins are into doing just that.

“You can always try, because you never know what you might find,” he told me. “That’s a big piece in our philosophy — why we believe in trying to build out robust arsenals. Not trying might be missing out on landing an elite weapon. Not every single project is going to have a successful in, but it’s worth the squeeze to see what you might find.”

Acquired by Miami from the Houston Astros at the trade deadline as part of the Jesús Sánchez deal, Gusto allowed three runs over six innings against the Braves, throwing 10 kick changes along the way. Returned to Triple-A following that game, he was subsequently called back up this past Friday to start against the Toronto Blue Jays. Thirteen of his 90 pitches were changeups, presumably of the kick variety.

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A quiz:

Three pitchers in Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals history have won 100 or more games with the two-city franchise. Who are they? (A hint: Two of them played exclusively with the franchise, while another had more career wins with a team other than the Expos/Nationals.)

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NEWS NOTES

The Texas Rangers unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Adrian Beltré outside of Globe Life Stadium on Friday. Nolan Ryan and Ivan Rodriguez also have statues outside of the ballpark.

Phil Meeler, a native of South Boston, Virginia who pitched in seven games for the Detroit Tigers in 1972, died this week at age 77. The right-hander was on the losing end of his only decision.

Lee Elder, who scouted for the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants in a career that spanned three-plus decades, died earlier this week at age 72. Elder worked as both an amateur and a professional scout.

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The answer to the quiz is Steve Rogers (158 wins), Stephen Strasburg (113), and Dennis Martinez (100). Next on the franchise’s wins list are Max Scherzer with 92 and Gio Gonzâlez with 86.

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Kyle Finnegan has excelled since being acquired by the Detroit Tigers from the Washington Nationals at the July 31 trade deadline. In nine appearances, the 34-year-old right-hander has fanned 12 batters and allowed just two hits and a pair of walks over 10-and-two-thirds scoreless innings. Moreover, he has recorded two wins and four saves.

One of his four losses on the season came with the Nats in a July 18 debacle against the Padres. San Diego tagged the closer for five ninth-inning runs, the last four coming on a 105.2-mph blast that traveled 389 feet.

“The worst pitch I’ve thrown this year was a 1-2 fastball to Manny Machado with the bases loaded,” Finnegan told me on Tuesday. “I was already kind of laboring my way along through the inning, and he hit a grand slam. Looking back, it just wasn’t the right pitch to make — the location, and probably the selection too. I tried to throw a strike and have him put it into play, and he hit it out of play.

“The pitch was up and away, but he hits up and away,” added the Detroit native, who has 112 saves since breaking into the big leagues in 2020. “I was trying to go more middle-in, but it was up and away in the strike zone and he did what he does. I didn’t execute the pitch. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go where you want it to go, and Hall of Fame hitters hit home runs.”

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Munetaka Murakami has a 198 wRC+ to go with a .276/.330/.644 slash line and nine home runs in 97 plate appearances for NPB’s Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Back in action after undergoing elbow surgery over the winter, the 25-year-old corner infielder — rumored to be posted in the coming offseason — averaged 40 homers annually from 2021-2024.

Do Yeong Kim is out for the remainder of the regular season after suffering his third hamstring injury of the campaign. The 21-year-old Kia Tigers third baseman, and reigning KBO MVP, has a 152 wRC+ over just 122 plate appearances. He had 38 home runs, 40 stolen bases, and a 168 wRC+ in 2024.

Ryan Weiss is 13-3 with a 2.95 ERA and a 28.5% strikeout rate over 143-and-a-third innings for the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles. The 28-year-old right-hander out of Wright State University pitched in the Arizona Diamondbacks and (briefly) Kansas City Royals organizations from 2018-2023.

An-Ko Lin is slashing .330/.390/.661 with 19 home runs in 251 plate appearances for the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. The 28-year-old, left-handed-hitting outfielder from Tainan City, Taiwan is of Taiwanese-Argentinian ancestry.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Yank Terry pitched during the WWII era, and he did so for the Bronx Bombers’ arch rival. A native of Huron, Indiana whose given name was Lancelot, the right-hander appeared in 93 games for the Boston Red Sox across the 1940-1945 seasons, going 20-28 with two saves and a 4.09 ERA. Baseball wasn’t his best sport growing up. Per his SABR BioProject entry, Terry was excelled as both a pole vaulter and on the hardwood, and was recruited to play basketball at the University of Notre Dame. He tried out for the Fighting Irish baseball team, as a shortstop, only to be cut after the first practice. From there he went on to play both semi-pro basketball and baseball, eventually earning an opportunity with the Red Sox. His 3.03 ERA against the Yankees was the best against any of the American League teams he faced.

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FARM NOTES

Eli Willits made his professional debut with Low-A Fredericksburg on Thursday night and went 3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Drafted first overall this summer out of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma’s Broxton High School, the 17-year-old shortstop is No. 2 on our updated Washington Nationals Top Prospects list, with a 50 FV.

Travis Bazzana is 7-for-29 with 14 walks and a .488 OBP since being promoted to Triple-A Columbus. Drafted first overall last year out of Oregon State University, the 22-year-old second baseman had a 135 wRC+ over 228 plate appearances in Double-A. Bazzana, who missed time earlier this season due to an oblique injury, is No. 2 on our updated Cleveland Guardians Top Prospects list, with a 50 FV.

Elian Peña is slashing .292/.421/.528 with nine home runs and a 144 wRC+ over 233 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League. Signed out of the DR in January — he received the second-highest bonus in the international class behind only Roki Sasaki — the 17-year-old shortstop is No. 9 on our updated New York Mets Top Prospects list, with 45 FV. Peña has a pair of three-homer games this season, including one this past Monday.

Lazaro Montes has 31 home runs, tied for the most in the minors. Currently with the Texas League’s Arkansas Travelers, the 20-year-old Havana-born outfielder has 145 wRC+ and a .250/.362/.546 slash line over 496 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. Montes is No. 8 on our updated Seattle Mariners Top Prospects list, with a 45+ FV.

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Jakob Marsee has mashed since making his MLB with the Miami Marlins on August 1. The 24-year-old outfielder has an outrageous 193 wRC+ over 85 plate appearances, with 15 of his 25 hits going for extra bases. The most recent of his four home runs was the thrill of a lifetime.

“It was the first moment I really blacked out after I hit it,” Marsee told reporters after hitting a two-run, ninth-inning blast off of Steven Matz to lift the Marlins to a 5-3 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park last Sunday. “But once I started running, I was like, ‘Let’s go!’ I was excited.”

I proceeded to ask Marsee where the home run ranks among the ones he’s hit since entering pro ball as a sixth-round pick in 2022.

“It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done, probably,” replied the former Central Michigan University Chippewa. “It was cool. We took the lead in a comeback game. It was super cool.”

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Awful Announcing>announced their 2025 MLB local broadcaster rankings.

Pitcher List’s Nate Schwartz looked at why Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo might be the most underrated hitter in baseball.

Gaslamp Ball’s Cheri Bell weighed in on potential MLB expansion and realignment.

JJ Wetherholt is using intentionality to shape his St. Louis Cardinals’ future. Emily Waldon talked to the 2024 first-rounder for Just Baseball.

The Athletic’s Stephen J. Nesbitt took us inside the surge of MLB’s dominant — and historic — left-handed pitching (subscription required).

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS.

Craig Counsell’s major league playing career comprised 1,624 games. Yesterday he matched that number with his 1,624th game as a major league manager.

Chicago Cubs pitchers have a 7.1% walk rate, the lowest in the majors. Los Angeles Angels pitchers have a 9.9% walk rate, the highest in the majors.

San Diego Padres batters have 40 sacrifice hits on the season, the most in the majors. Baltimore Orioles batters have three sacrifice hits, the fewest in the majors

The Texas Rangers have scored 541 runs and have a plus-58 run differential. The Athletics have scored 588 runs and have a minus-85 run differential.

Toronto’s Joey Loperfido has a .358 batting average, the highest among hitters with at least 60 plate appearances. Kansas City’s MJ Melendez has an .083 batting average, the lowest among hitters with at least 60 plate appearances.

On today’s date in 1919, Cleveland Indians right-hander Ray Caldwell was struck by lightning in the ninth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Athletics. Reportedly knocked unconscious, Caldwell was revived a few minutes later, remained in the game, and recorded the final out in a 2-1 win.

On today’s date in 1976, Tim Johnson singled home Darrell Porter in the top of the 10th inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers. Kewaunee, Wisconsin native Jerry Augustine went the distance for the Brewers, scattering five hits, issuing one free pass, and not recording a strikeout.

On August 21, 1975, brothers Rick and Paul Reuschel combined on a six-hitter as the Chicago Cubs blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0. Rick Monday went deep against Andy Messersmith.

Players born on today’s date include Webster Garrison, an infielder who played 13 seasons in the minors before getting a cup of coffee with the Oakland Athletics in August 1996. Three weeks shy of his 31st birthday when he debuted, the Marrero, Louisiana native appeared in five games and went 0-for-9 with a walk.

Also born on today’s date was Jewel Ens, an infielder who played in 67 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates across the 1922-1925 seasons. A St. Louis native who logged 54 hits in 186 at-bats, Ens was the brother of Mutz Ens, who played briefly for the Chicago White Sox in 1912.