Lakeland, Fla. — Oh man, it would’ve been such a cool moment.
Just imagine. Manager AJ Hinch lets rookie Tarik Skubal pitch to one batter in the fifth inning. Gives him one more up-down, gets to his pitch-count and as he’s taking the ball from him says, “Oh, and by the way, you’ve made the team. You’re in the rotation.”
Finally maybe we’d all have seen a smile crease Skubal’s ever-stoic face. Instead, Skubal walked the leadoff hitter in the fifth on Tuesday, his fifth walk of the game.
“I can’t say that on the mound after he walked a hitter,” Hinch said, retelling the story Wednesday morning.