Tarik Skubal, in what could be his final start for the Detroit Tigers, was given a standing ovation by fans after notching his 1,000th career strikeout in the first inning of Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Skubal, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner, possibly could be dealt by Detroit prior to the MLB trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET Monday. He pitched 6⅔ innings, giving up three runs on four hits and striking out six to bring his career total to 1,005.
Skubal stepped off the mound and tipped his cap to fans in Detroit after the ovation following his strikeout of Orioles leadoff batter Taylor Ward. He reached 1,000 strikeouts in just 153 games, becoming the fastest Tigers pitcher to reach the milestone, surpassing Max Scherzer. Overall, he's the 17th pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000.
The only left-hander to have reached the milestone in fewer games was Hall of Famer Randy Johnson (152 games), according to ESPN Research.
Skubal was given another standing ovation by Tigers fans when he left the game in the bottom of the sixth.
He has a 2.79 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 53⅓ innings since returning from experimental elbow surgery in just six weeks.
Skubal has made it clear he wants to finish the season with the Tigers and lead them to a third straight postseason berth, but the decision is out of his hands. He's a free agent at the end of the season, and with Scott Boras as his agent, the odds are high that he is going to make it to the open market.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meanwhile, has to focus on the balance between winning this season and making sure Skubal doesn't leave for nothing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
