Tigers’ Tarik Skubal Inspired by USA Hockey Gold Medal

Team USA pitcher Tarik Skubal will only pitch one game in the World Baseball Classic and then return to the Detroit Tigers. Skubal spoke with the media after his 2026 spring training debut against the Minnesota Twins on Feb. 23.

​“The whole point of me doing the WBC was to make sure that I could stay on a normal workload of a Spring Training regimen and be able to make a start for Team USA and then come back here and continue my normal routine to get ready for Opening Day,” Skubal told World Baseball Network.

Skubal said that he won’t be throwing in the knockout rounds if Team USA were to make it out of Pool B, which will be played at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, from March 6th to 11th. If he stays on his normal schedule, this start is expected to come against Great Britain on March 7.

“I think everything’s going to stay the same,” Skubal told World Baseball Network. “I’m not ramping up earlier than I need to. I don’t want that narrative out there. I’m treating this as I’m going to Team USA, making a start, coming back to Lakeland, and getting ready to go for Opening Day.”’

On the day of his start against the Twins, Skubal, like many of his teammates and fans across the country, was locked into the gold medal hockey game between the United States and Canada at the Winter Olympics when the media walked into the clubhouse.

Skubal’s Detroit Red Wings jersey was visibly hanging up in his locker. He always loves supporting athletes of the Motor City in other sports, and it’s part of the competitive spirit that drives him on the mound. You can even see it in his bullpens before home and road games. Monday was a similar sight, attracting a massive crowd in his Spring Training bullpen.

“You watch the USA-Canada Hockey game? You should have been in our clubhouse when they won it! I wish it had happened in whatever time slot you guys had in there,” Skubal told the media. “I think the whole place erupted when Team USA hit that goal.”

“I hope I have a similar impact for Team USA and being able to celebrate with those guys something special like that,” Skubal added. “I know it’s not a gold medal, but it’s still a World Baseball Classic.”

Skubal was also asked how he thought the atmosphere of the World Baseball Classic would compare to a postseason game.

“I’ve heard that the WBC is pretty close to a postseason atmosphere,” Skubal said. “It’s going to be a ton of fun to go out, and just the clubhouse and sharing the locker room with these guys is something that I’m really looking forward to.”

Skubal picked up right where he left off last season during October in Seattle vs. the Seattle Mariners. Although the game against the Twins was on a much lesser scale, he threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Detroit’s loss to the Mariners last October in the ALDS at T-Mobile Park probably stung even more for Skubal since he went to college at Seattle University from 2016 to 2018. From his days on the mound as a Redhawk, the 29-year-old left-hander would even say so himself that he wasn’t supposed to become one of the greatest pitchers in the world.

Photo: Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Lakeland, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)