The Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal and the Los Angeles Angels’ shortstop Zach Neto got into a heated argument on Friday night in Anaheim, which led to benches being cleared during Detroit’s resounding 9-1 victory against Los Angeles. It was a blast of midseason adrenaline.
Literally, the tension started with a boom. Skubal’s first pitch of the evening was ambushed by Neto, who sent it 429 feet to dead center for a leadoff home run. With an initial velocity of 107.9 mph, the bomb was Neto’s first leadoff home run of his career and the first one Skubal has given up in that position since 2023.
After admiring his efforts for a few more seconds, Neto trotted around the bases, a motion that obviously resonated with Skubal.
After the game, Skubal declared, “I’m a competitor.” Nothing personal is involved. He understood me. But I want to get him back.”
In the third inning, that competitive fire reached a boiling point. Skubal reached back and fired a fastball at 99.4 mph past Neto for a swinging strikeout with a runner on third and one out. However, the strikeout marked the beginning rather than the finish.
Tigers dominate the Angels as the benches cleared in the third
The Angels players and Tigers teammates poured out of their dugouts, forming a crowd around home plate. Cooler heads soon prevailed, and no punches were thrown, but umpires warned both sides. Skubal turned toward Neto and let him hear it. Neto fired something right back, and Skubal took a few steps off the mound toward the third-base line.
“It’s just two guys competing,” Neto remarked later. “I got him early, he got me back. That’s baseball.”
A.J. Hinch, the manager of the Tigers, agreed. “Guys are fired up, adrenaline is flowing,” he remarked. “There wasn’t really a reason for the benches to clear, but it happens. As long as the fire doesn’t spread, I don’t mind it.
Once the dust had settled, Skubal resumed his job. He improved to 4-0 on the season by throwing six innings of one-run ball, scattering five hits and striking out eight. His ERA decreased to 2.18, and the Tigers climbed to 21-12 – the best record in the American League.
In contrast, the Angels suffered their seventh consecutive defeat, dropping to 12-19 and last in the AL West.
In 2025, Skubal, the current AL Cy Young champion, has continued to dominate. With 40 strikeouts, he leads the Tigers’ rotation and continues to set the emotional tone for a club that is having its greatest start in franchise history.
Although there were no ejections or punishments as a consequence of Friday’s incident, it may have set the tone for the remainder of the series and possibly a developing rivalry between two competitive players who don’t mind being in the limelight. Saturday night is when Game 2 will go place. Keep an eye out.
