Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was cruising to what looked like another quality start and victory against the Athletics on Monday night before encountering some turbulence in the seventh inning. Holding onto a 3-2 lead, the fireballing lefty allowed the home team to load the bases without an out. While this would have been reason enough for a manager to relieve any other pitcher, Skubal has earned the right to work out of such jams. And it looked like he would after striking out two batters to set up a battle with Shea Langeliers.
Langeliers, one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball since the All-Star break, worked the count to 2-1 and got a fastball to his liking. No one in the ballpark knew that his swing would result in a grand slam sooner than Skubal.
His immediate reaction said it all.
SHE4 pic.twitter.com/bqsGFUcpKW
— Athletics (@Athletics) August 26, 2025
If you have some time to sit through some raw footage from a fan in attendance, the alternate angle of all the joy leaving the reigning American League Cy Young winner is even more compelling. It's like Skubal was living four seconds in the future where the Athletics had a 6-3 lead and he absolutely did not care for it.
Detroit would lose, 8-3, reducing their lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL's best record to half a game.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Crushed Tarik Skubal Knew He'd Given Up a Game-Changing Grand Slam Before Anyone Else.
