DETROIT — If Tarik Skubal is actually traded this summer, the Yankees would likely be on the long list of teams interested in his services.
To what extent, given their more pressing needs, remains to be seen.
But if the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner lands elsewhere, the Yankees will at least know they have a secret weapon against him, along with some recent history of success.
In Skubal’s third start off the injured list, the Yankees did what no other team had done against him since 2021 — crush three home runs, including two from Paul Goldschmidt, on the way to a 4-2 win over the Tigers on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
The Yankees (48-31) had only four hits in six innings against the Tigers lefty, but three of them left the park.
After Skubal had struck out seven of the last nine Yankees into the sixth inning, Ben Rice singled before Jasson Domínguez followed with a two-run shot — his first from the right side this season — to break a 2-2 tie.
“Skubal is one of the best,” Domínguez said. “He’s definitely a tough matchup. But I was just trying to take a good at-bat. Trying to fight him, trying to battle. That was all that was in my mind.”
Goldschmidt had provided the first two runs, including going deep to lead off the game, as the veteran first baseman finished the night 7-for-13 in his career against Skubal, with his four home runs tied for the most of anyone against him.
“Crazy,” manager Aaron Boone said. “This deep in his career, he’s just so tough on lefties and obviously he’s had a good run against Tarik, who I thought was pretty great tonight. We ran into a few. Goldy got two and obviously a big one there by JD.”
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Ryan Weathers, meanwhile, outdueled Skubal in a showdown of lefties, giving up just two runs (one earned) across six innings as the Yankees secured the rubber game before flying to Boston for a four-game series against the Red Sox.
Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz and David Bednar combined for three scoreless innings of relief to secure the win, as Bednar has now thrown 11 consecutive scoreless appearances.
Skubal, who could be the biggest prize on the trade market this summer if the Tigers (34-46) cannot fully dig themselves out of the hole they created over the first two months of the season, was dominant for most of Wednesday.
The only two Yankees base runners entering the sixth inning were Goldschmidt’s home runs, and then Skubal bested him in their third matchup by blowing a 100 mph fastball past him on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.
Asked how he was able to have so much success against Skubal in his career, Goldschmidt insisted, “I have no idea.”
“There’s not really a recipe to try to beat him,” Goldschmidt said. “He’s got four really good pitches, he competes as good as anyone. He got me that third at-bat. Just try to get in there and compete and hopefully good things happen.”
That was the same approach for Domínguez, who had struck out in each of his first two at-bats against Skubal and then fell behind 0-2 in the third at-bat.
Or as Boone put it: “He got dominated his first two, and even two strikes into the next at-bat.”
But Domínguez fouled off three pitches while working the count full, and then on the eighth pitch, got a changeup down the middle and clobbered it to left field for a two-run blast that decided the game.
“He just keeps on competing, and as that at-bat unfolded, you saw him get on time a little bit, you saw him spoil a couple pitches, you saw him take a couple really good pitches, and then it looked like he got the hanging changeup and didn’t miss it,” Boone said. “Just a great finishing at-bat by JD after really struggling against him in the first two-plus.”
