Diamondbacks 1st home series features 2-time defending Cy Young star
With their three-game set in Los Angeles behind them, the Diamondbacks open the home portion of their schedule on Monday, March 30, when they host the Detroit Tigers for the first of three games at Chase Field. The series opener will mark the Diamondbacks debut for right-hander Michael Soroka, who signed with the club in December. He will be opposed by right-hander Justin Verlander, the 43-year-old, three-time Cy Young Award winner who is making his return to the Tigers, his original team.
Soroka, 28, who posted a 4. 52 ERA last year, will be trying to show he deserves to remain in the starting rotation. The Diamondbacks will have a decision to make within the next two weeks when right-hander Merrill Kelly returns from the injured list.
The Diamondbacks are 24-22 all-time against the Detroit Tigers, a team they have faced more than most others in the American League. For several years in the early years of interleague play, the Tigers were the Diamondbacks’ “natural rival” in the AL. Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal, the two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, is expected to pitch the series finale on Wednesday, April 1.
In his one career outing against the Diamondbacks, Skubal fired six innings of one-hit, shutout ball in a start in 2024. Skubal was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks but did not sign . The Atlanta Braves will follow the Tigers into town for a four-game series that begins on Thursday, April 2.
The Diamondbacks went 4-2 against the Braves last year after dropping 5 of 7 to them in 2024. After facing Skubal in the previous series, they could miss lefty Chris Sale in the Braves series. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks home-opening series features Tarik Skubal, Tigers