Tarik Skubal leads loaded starting pitcher matchups for wildcard day 1

Rodney Knuppel

Tarik Skubal leads loaded starting pitcher matchups for wildcard day 1 image

It all starts on Tuesday.

The postseason in Major League Baseball.

A four-pack of games slated for Tuesday will get started at noon CT and finish up somewhere around 11 pm CT.

Let's take a look at the four pitching matchups for the games.

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians

It's Tarik Skubal for Detroit. He finished the season with a 13-6 record and a 2.21 earned run average. Skubal struck out 241 batters, while walking just 33 on the season. He will take on Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians. Williams, who is 26 years old,is 12-5 on the season, with a 3.06. Williams struck out 173 and walked 83.

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs

Nick Pivetta gets the nod for the San Diego Padres. He made 31 starts and finished with a 13-5 mark. He threw 181.2 innings, striking out 190 batters, and walking 49. Pivetta finished with a 2.87 earned run average. Matthew Boyd will make the start for the Chicago Cubs. Boyd went 14-8 with a 3.21 earned run average in the regular season. Boyd struck out 154 and walked 42.

MOREThree MLB teams start postseason looking for first World Series title ever

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

It's Garrett Crochet for the Boston Red Sox. If Skubal were not in the American League, Crochet would be the easy winner of the American League Cy Young. Crochet struck out 255 batters this season in 205.1 innings. He finished the season with an 18-5 record in 2025. For New York, it's left-hander Max Fried. Fried had a strong season as well, going 19-5 and holding a 2.86 earned run average. The lefthander struck out 189 batters, while walking just 51.

Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers

Finally, the last game features Hunter Greene for the Cincinnati Reds and Blake Snell for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Greene, just 26 years old, had a season that saw him finish 7-4 with a 2.76 earned run average. The youngster threw 107.2 innings and struck out 132 batters. For Blake Snell, he made just 11 starts this season. He finished with 61.1 innings thrown, striking out 72 batters.

As it should be - the top pitchers are matched up together for a big day of Major League Baseball. Enjoy the games!

More MLB News:

Rodney Knuppel

Rodney Knuppel is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. When not watching, listening or writing about sports, Rodney enjoys following the travels of his three kids, who are all active in their own sports and activities. A huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, Rodney also enjoys St. Louis Blues hockey and is a big Kansas Jayhawks basketball fan.