Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has strong emotions.
It’s why he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball with a 2.28 ERA and an MLB-leading 212 strikeouts. At the same time, Skubal’s fiery attitude can get him in trouble. That’s what happened on Monday in Detroit’s series-opening loss to the Athletics in Sacramento.
A four-seam fastball to JJ Bleday in the third inning was called a ball by home plate umpire Dan Bellino. Skubal disagreed and exchanged words with Bellino before manager A.J. Hinch came out to diffuse the situation. Skubal addressed the incident postgame.
Skubal speaks on umpire disputes
Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Skubal acknowledged he was probably being too hard on the umpires, whose job is notoriously difficult.
“I probably should be a little better,” he said after the game on Monday. “They’re human. I understand that it’s part of the game. Missing pitches is part of the game. I probably just shouldn’t say anything. It doesn’t do us any good. It doesn’t do our team any good. It’s tough when you’re out there competing. I play with a pretty good amount of emotion and fire, so it’s tough, but I probably shouldn’t say much. I know he’s not trying to miss calls. It’s not the goal. They want to get the calls right.”
Monday wasn’t the first time Skubal argued with an ump, either. He used an expletive twice with home plate umpire Tom Hanahan a few weeks ago because of a bad call, per Petzold.
Hinch wasn’t happy with how Bellino handled the situation.
“There was no need for him to lecture Tarik,” he said. “I was frustrated that he went out and tried to talk to Tarik, so I had to go out to make sure Tarik stayed in the game, but also to let Dan know that I’ll handle our players, and he can handle balls and strikes.”
Skubal is scheduled to pitch next on Sunday in the series finale vs. the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.