Tigers broadcast gets completely owned with unfortunate Tarik Skubal moment

Nothing is going right for the Detroit Tigers lately, and even their announcers can’t catch a break. Detroit was just swept at home by the Cleveland Guardians, sparking fears among fans that they are witnessing an epic, late-season collapse unfold in real time. The third-straight loss was bad enough, but Thursday’s defeat also featured some spooky business in the form of an announcer’s jinx that didn't end well for the Tigers.

The jinx occurred with Tarik Skubal on the mound for the Tigers in the fourth inning, as they held a 1-0 lead. Up until that moment, Skubal was looking razor-sharp in his return from an injury scare.

That’s when Guardians slugger Jhonkensy Noel stepped to the plate with no one on base and the broadcast decided to chime in.

Tigers announcer jinxes Tarik Skubal in astounding fashion

Skubal was ahead of Noel in the count, 0-2. All seemed awesome in Tigers land, but that’s when Detroit’s play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti decided to inject some humor into the broadcast, using Noel’s famous nickname as the centerpiece for a quick quip.

“I mean, if Jhonkensey Noel is Big Christmas, does that make Tarik Skubal — just for today — the Grinch?”

An innocent enough joke from Benneti, right?

Wrong. Within milliseconds of the word “Grinch” leaving Benetti’s mouth, Noel blasted a changeup from Skubal 411 feet out of the park to left field, and Benetti could only reply in a dreaded tone, “Oh my goodness, Christmas wins.”

It was Skubal’s lone blunder of the day. He left the game after six innings (102 pitches) with just the one earned run allowed and nine strikeouts. Troy Melton ended up allowing two earned runs in relief, and Detroit’s offense couldn’t get it going, resulting in a 3-1 loss. 

With the Tigers desperately trying to reverse the bad vibes, Detroit was set to begin a three-game set against the Atlanta Braves at home on Friday. A division lead that had ballooned to 15.5 games over the Guardians on July 8 has now shrunk to just 3.5, a miraculous development that is too incredible to involve baseball forces alone.

If there are greater, inexplicable factors dooming the 2025 Tigers, Thursday’s haunting announcer’s jinx was a surefire sign of it. At the end of the day, though, Detroit still controls its own destiny. With nine games remaining on the schedule, the Tigers can put their fans at ease by taking care of business against Atlanta and then closing the door on Cleveland, beginning with a win in the series opener on Tuesday.

Fittingly, taking the hill for Detroit on that day will be none other than Skubal.