Skubal sparks Tigers’ rise from the depths

While the Toronto Blue Jays are having an unexpectedly great season, baseball fans in general are enjoying a terrific season on a number of fronts as Major League Baseball passes its halfway mark.

Trying to project a World Series winner in July is a fool’s game, but it was hardly in doubt back in April when most of the game’s followers were declaring the Los Angeles Dodgers to be a repeat winner of the October (that runs into November) Classic. And why not? The Dodgers dominated the 2024 season and returned with almost the same powerful lineup but with one key addition: Slugger Shohei Ohtani was returning to the mound. The Dodgers in a cakewalk, right?

Not so fast. The first team to get to 50 victories this year was somewhat of a surprise: The Detroit Tigers, who grabbed a wildcard playoff berth last year after languishing at or near the basement of the American League Central for nearly a decade. As the calendar flipped from June to July, the Tigers and Dodgers had identical records atop MLB’s 32 teams. Leading the way for the Tigers is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal, who won the AL’s triple crown of pitching last year (wins, ERA, strikeouts). He’s back at it again this year, with a 10-2 record, 2.13 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 109 innings.

But while the Tigers were the first to 50 wins, all teams in the American League must keep their eye on the New York Yankees, who would likely prevail in a best-of-seven championship series against the Tigers. Outfielder Aaron Judge is having another sensational season and is the mid-season favourite to win the MVP again. Free-agent pitcher pickup Max Fried is earning his hefty salary, going 10-2 with a 2.13 ERA at mid-season.

While the Dodgers posted the best half-season record, they’re far from an automatic World Series participant. The Chicago Cubs are having a season to remember, and the Philadelphia Phillies and NY Mets appear to be the class of the NL East, and any one of those teams has the firepower to dislodge the Dodgers in a short series.

Individually, there have been some breakout stories. Catcher Cal Raleigh of Seattle has become the new Sultan of Swing, bashing 35 home runs in his first 87 games, a pace that would give him 65 homers. Judge is on his heels, with 32 homers and a league-leading OPS (on base percentage plus slugging) of 1.202. And a youngster by the name of Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers reminded baseball fans of Fernando Mania of 45 years ago by making a huge rookie splash. In his first two starts, totalling 11 innings, the six-foot-seven 23 year old did not give up a single hit. In his third outing, he was touched for three hits in five innings and outdueled Pittsburgh mound sensation Paul Skenes. Opponents are batting .061 against him.

Meanwhile, Blue Jays fans are enjoying watching their team flirt with first place in the AL. The season’s second half should be exciting.

OUT OF BOUNDS

• Vancouver comedy guy Torben Rolfsen: “France is replacing Russia in Olympic hockey next year, so berets over weird fur hats will be in fashion.”

• Rolfsen again: “U.S. law enforcement has cracked down on gang violence. When are they going to get to the WNBA?”

• Globe and Mail columnist Cathal Kelly, on Masai Ujiri trading “anchor” Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks in exchange for valuable draft picks: “If sports had a criminal code, that trade would have been a Class A felony.”

• Another one from Kelly, with advice to fans in a column about blistering heat at Wimbledon: “If you feel faint, then for God’s sake don’t pass out while a point is being played. It will distract the players.”

• Manitoba premier Wab Kinew, on the Jets signing Jonathan Toews to a contract: “It’ll be really great for the documentary they make about the Winnipeg Jets winning the Stanley Cup.”

• Torben Rolfsen again: “Joey Chestnut on cover of Hot Dog 26 video game.”

• Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: “Joey Chestnut once again won the 4th of July hot dog eating contest, eating just over 70 hot dogs in six hours. The real loser in this? Joey Chestnut’s plumber.”

• American political commentator George Will, (snipped from Jack Finarelli’s sportscurmudgen.com site): “Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”

• Headline at fark.com: “I don’t want to say that gambling has ruined ESPN but here’s an article on the odds of the July 4 hot-dog-eating contest.”

• One more from Cathal Kelly, on waiting 18 minutes in line for strawberries and cream at Wimbledon: That is “something I would not normally do. One of my rules for life is that the only things I (grudgingly) line up for are airport security and the checkout at Costco.”

» Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca