Tigers News: Tarik Skubal history, Casey Mize return, Miguel Cabrera playing again

On Sunday, Tarik Skubal proved that he's the best pitcher in baseball when he threw a complete game shutout against the Guardians — nine innings, just two hits, zero walks, and 13 strikeouts to match a career high. Believe it or not, it was the first complete game of his careeer. Cleveland had to wait until the top of the sixth to get their first hit of the day.

Skubal was still throwing 102 by the seventh inning, and he finished off the game on the perfect note. With all of Comerica on its feet, Skubal got Gabriel Arias to an 0-2 count with two outs and then hurled the fastest pitch of not only the game, but of his career: 102.6 MPH. It was also the fastest pitch thrown by a Tiger in the Statcast Era (since 2015). The only other major league starter who's thrown over 101.7 MPH in the seventh inning or later is former Tiger Justin Verlander, who's done it nine times.

Also, the last time a pitcher threw a complete game shutout with no walks, two hits or less, and 13+ strikeouts was Jacob deGrom in 2021. Skubal only needed 94 pitches to do it, while deGrom needed 109.

Tigers News: Casey Mize's strong return, Miguel Cabrera coming out of retirement

Casey Mize made his return to the mound a day before Skubal's masterclass, after spending a short stint on the IL. He went five innings against the Guardians and gave up two runs (only one earned), and struck out six batters. The Tigers were leading by one run at the time only to blow it in extras, but it was a reassuring return for Mize, who's finally living up to first-round pick expectations five years into his career.

On Friday, the aptly named Tigers of the Venezuelan Winter League announced that future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera would be coming out of retirement to play in the 2025-2026 season in home country. Cabrera has played two seasons for the Venezuelan Tigers, but not since their 2007-2008 season.

Cabrera has remained close to the Detroit Tigers organization since he retired as a special assistant to Scott Harris, and he was present at Tigers spring training to lend advice to new first basemen Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy, but he's clearly not ready to put away his batting gloves quite yet. Tigers fans will enjoy tuning in to see his at-bats.