DETROIT (AP) — Tarik Skubal is still the ace of the Detroit Tigers' pitching staff as far as manager A.J. Hinch is concerned.
Hinch confirmed Tuesday that Skubal is still scheduled to start on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
With the Tigers at 50-57 and the Aug. 3 trade deadline quickly approaching, it seemed possible that the Tigers would rest Skubal to avoid a possible injury heading into the trade deadline.
“We’re trying to win the series to put us in a better position to be a playoff team,” Hinch said. “The information I have is, win the series. We obviously need to win tonight to get to that position. But I fully expect him to start.”
The two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner is 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 46 2/3 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's going to make it to the open market.
That's a tough spot for a franchise that doesn't normally compete with the Dodgers, Yankees and other big-city teams for top free agents. That means Scott Harris, Detroit's president of baseball operations, has to focus on the balance between winning this season and making sure Skubal doesn't leave for nothing.
Skubal is obviously tired of talking about the trade possibilities, and is staying focused on facing the Orioles.
“I'm pitching tomorrow and I've got something cool that I want to accomplish at home,” he said Tuesday, referring to the one strikeout he needs to reach 1,000 for his career. “That hasn't changed.”
Skubal is still around, but the Tigers did say goodbye to the player who was his exclusive catcher early in his career.
Catcher Jake Rogers was designated for assignment to make room for Javier Báez, who has been out since April 28 with an ankle injury.
Ironically, the Tigers acquired Rogers the last time they dealt away their ace — he was part of the return when Justin Verlander was traded to the Houston Astros at the 2017 trade deadline.
Rogers was considered one of the game's best defensive catchers from the day he made his debut in 2019, but his bat kept him from having a better career in Detroit. He spent 2020 on Detroit's taxi squad, then missed the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery.
He's hitting .161 in 34 games this year, bringing his career average to .197, and lost his job as Skubal's personal catcher to All-Star Dillon Dingler.
None of that made it easier for his teammates when they found out Monday night.
“We were all holding back tears,” first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “Jake was a big piece of this team for a long time. He helped create our identity. Talk about a guy who showed up each and every day as the same guy.
"It hurts.”
Hinch agreed.
“It's tough,” he said. “I love Jake. He's been here as long as I have.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander, left, sits with Tarik Skubal, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Fans hold up K signs for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Tuesday that it knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi Arabia's forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days, shattering a brief pause in fighting.
All Iranian missiles launched against American forces in the Middle East were intercepted, U.S. Central Command said, adding that they “remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.” In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the U.S. warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure risked additional action.
The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran on the U.S. military statement or the strikes.
The fighting flared at the end of a month packed with multiple pressure points on President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, four U.S. troops died during the fighting, while the Pentagon asked an increasingly skeptical Congress for money to cover the conflict’s ballooning costs.
High gasoline prices tied to the choked-off Strait of Hormuz are contributing to fears that Republicans are vulnerable in November’s midterm elections. The U.S. House narrowly passed a resolution to halt military action in Iran last week, sending another warning to Trump that reflects the war’s unpopularity with many Americans.
Trump has repeatedly retreated from threats to knock out bridges, power plants and other infrastructure but he told Fox News Channel earlier Tuesday that Iran knows he’ll “finish the job” if its leaders don’t make a deal to end the war.
Iran launched its ballistic missile attack before American and Saudi forces carried out strikes in Iraq, according to a U.S. official, who stressed that the two attacks were not connected. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations.
“U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” U.S. Central Command said, using an acronym for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
It said the Revolutionary Guard “and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.”
The Saudi Defense Ministry acknowledged the strikes in a post on social media, warning that “the Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces.”
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq for a second day, while Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have forced a Saudi oil tanker to turn around as part of their self-styled blockade of the kingdom.
The kingdom's Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones that had tried to target petroleum facilities in the nation's eastern region. It said the attacks were “once again launched from Iraqi territory and carried out by Iran-affiliated terrorist militias.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered security agencies to investigate after the Saudis alleged a similar attack on Monday. The Iraqi military said the country is committed to “preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”
The Iraqi militias have denied any role in the drone attacks. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups, called the Saudi claims “fabrications" and implied that Monday's attacks were carried out by the Houthis, who had themselves claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities.
The Houthis claimed to have fired missiles at the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal, forcing it to turn back. Last week, they announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, putting another key Middle Eastern waterway — through the Bab el-Mandeb strait leading to the Red Sea — at risk.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said a tanker reported hearing explosions while traveling in the southern Red Sea. It did not name the tanker but said the crew and vessel were safe.
The rebels fired on at least one Saudi tanker in the Red Sea last week.
Iran and the U.S. had paused their fighting over the weekend, though tensions remained high even as officials said mediators achieved progress in getting the two sides back to negotiations.
Iran said earlier Tuesday that U.S. strikes during an earlier period of escalation destroyed an airport and a marine control tower, and caused damage to 12 bridges and two tunnels, among other infrastructure.
Iran had effectively closed the strait when the war began by firing at freighters and tankers off its coast or threatening them. Following the signing of an interim ceasefire deal in June, a battle for control over the strait erupted.
Iran demanded that ships use a route near its coastline and said it can potentially charge fees. Ships were increasingly navigating a southern route along the coast of Oman under a U.S. overwatch operation when Iran attacked some vessels.
The new strikes came on the same day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Trump at the White House for the first time since the two launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28. Israel has been notably absent from the recent fighting with the Islamic Republic.
Netanyahu said it was an “excellent” meeting, and Trump called it “very good,” noting that “many important subjects were discussed.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. ability to intercept Iran’s incoming strikes has become an increasingly salient issue as lawmakers, members of the military and experts raise concerns over the nation’s diminishing stockpiles of missile interceptors.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, pushed back on those concerns, saying the military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the president’s choosing.”
Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
An Iranian pro-government demonstrator waves her country's flag in a gathering at a square in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A demonstrator prays as he holds an Iranian flag in a pro-government gathering at a square in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man walks past anti-U.S. graffiti on the wall of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Small boats line the shore as cargo ships and other commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 27, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
Young men ride motorcycles along the shore as a tractor pulls equipment from the water and commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 27, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
