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How Skubal and Skenes dominate MLB, according to teammates

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  • Jesse RogersAug 19, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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      Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.

Both of MLB’s 2025 Cy Young favorites came from humble pitching beginnings. Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes started his meteoric rise to stardom at the Air Force Academy, while Detroit Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal came of age at Seattle University. Neither place screams baseball immortality, but both pitchers could be flirting with historic achievements for the rest of their careers provided they stay healthy.

Skenes was the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, while Skubal won the American League Cy Young Award last season — and their paths recently crossed as the 2025 All-Star Game starting pitchers in Atlanta. As they head down the stretch with the opportunity to collect more hardware this season, ESPN asked their teammates, team personnel and Skubal and Skenes themselves what makes the two best pitchers in the sport so special.

“Really advanced stuff and fill up the strike zone; they go right at guys,” Tigers starter Casey Mize said, summing up the feelings of those who have watched both aces. “So, they’re in advantageous counts a lot, applying a lot of pressure. The biggest thing to worry about is getting jumped early in counts, so they have to be good early on. But it feels like when they get strike one, the at-bat is over.”

‘He’s a guy that you can talk to when he’s starting’

The similarities between the two pitchers begin with the vibe they generate throughout the stadium when it’s their turn to pitch. There’s a different feeling in the clubhouse on a Skenes or Skubal day because of how games play out when they’re on the mound.

“You just know the other team isn’t going to do very much,” Tigers infielder Zach McKinstry said when it’s a Skubal day. “Defense is kind of boring that game.”

As a smiling teammate Spencer Torkelson added, “You can almost be blindfolded playing behind him.”

Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham has his own way of recognizing when Pittsburgh’s ace is pitching. It begins when Pham gets dressed to come to the park.

“He wears a suit to the field, so I started trying to keep up with him on ‘Skenes Day,'” Pham said. “I call out Skenes Day by wearing a suit with him so he’s not the only one.

“And we normally don’t need to score a lot of runs that day.”

Despite Skenes’ formal attire and nasty stuff, it stands out to his teammates that Skenes is still approachable when it is his day to take the mound.

“He’s a guy that you can talk to when he’s starting,” Pham stated. “I’ve played with guys, when they’re starting, you can’t talk to them, which I feel is bulls—. But he’s not like that.”

Skubal exhibits that trait, as well, according to Detroit infielder Zach McKinstry. Skubal will talk to teammates like it’s any other game.

The confidence in each pitcher’s crafts allows for a normal day, according to the players in both locker rooms.

The Tigers also get an extra jolt of energy during their pennant race as they play meaningful games down the stretch: Comerica Park comes alive when their ace takes the mound.

“Every jersey you see is a No. 29 jersey,” McKinstry said. “They love him. And he loves what he does. And we love to play behind him.”

‘We play a defensive position, but he makes it look like offense’

If there is one difference between Skubal and Skenes, it is that Skubal is in attack mode more than anyone in the league. He leads MLB in throwing his first pitch for a strike at 70% of the time. Overall, he throws strikes 55% of the time — good for third most in baseball.

Being in the zone so often is one reason Skubal is third in the majors in innings pitched this season, after finishing eighth in that category last season.

“When it gets to those later innings, you do feel like he has a chance to go the distance,” Tigers reliever Will Vest said. “It’s because he’s so efficient with his pitches.”

Skubal has pitched at least seven innings in 10 starts this season, including his signature outing: a 13-strikeout shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on May 25. That performance still resonates in the Tigers’ clubhouse three months later, especially after his last pitch registered at 103 mph.

“The aggressiveness,” Mize explained. “We play a defensive position, but he makes it look like offense. He’s going at everybody. He doesn’t care. That game illustrated that.”

Skenes, on the other hand, ranks 33rd in first-strike percentage (62.1) with a full arsenal that allows him to attack hitters differently.

“He has a larger tool box,” Pirates assistant pitching coach Brent Strom said. “It enables him to have weapons against different types of hitters. He pitches to his strengths.”

According to Baseball Savant, Skenes has thrown seven different types of pitches this season — as compared with Skubal’s five — and Skenes’ swinging-strike percentage ranks seventh. It all adds up to a pitch mix that keeps hitters baffled, even when they get pitches to hit.

“It’s full-on ‘here it is, hit it,'” Pirates catcher Joey Bart said. “He’s not scared of anyone.”

‘Everything is by the numbers, and he leaves nothing to chance’

Every player, no matter the position, has a routine to prepare for competition. But Skenes is especially unique in that regard.

One day, between starts, Pham asked to stand in the batter’s box while Skenes threw a bullpen session.

“Then the next day, I asked who’s throwing a pen because I needed to test out my contact lenses again,” Pham explained. “And Skenes says, ‘Hey, I’m throwing a pen.'”

Pham gave him a confused look, knowing Skenes had thrown the day before.

“He’s like, ‘Yeah, I throw every day, except for the day before my start,'” Pham recalled. “When I found that out, I was like, yeah, he’s different. I’ve never seen anybody do that.”

Strom noted that not every bullpen session is built the same. There’s purpose to the preparation.

“His work is very organized,” Strom said. “Very thoughtful. Everything is by the numbers, and he leaves nothing to chance. He’s very cerebral. He understands what’s necessary.”

Bart recalled Skenes’ early days with the club after getting called up in May 2024. The catcher recognized the detailed preparation of the former LSU star even then, including how Skenes readied for his very first outing against the Chicago Cubs.

“I remember the first pregame meeting last year,” Bart said. “He ran the meeting in his debut. I was like, ‘Go ahead and take it, dude. You got it.’ He has been groomed for this.”

That kind of intense and directed preparedness has gained attention and admiration around the league, and it is what Skubal identified as Skenes’ most impressive trait.

“He seems like he has his routine and preparation already figured out at a young age,” Skubal said. “It took me until I was 26 to be a good big league baseball player and figure that out. And he’s doing it at 23. That’s four years faster than me. Yeah, that’s really impressive.”

‘He just wants to show that there is something memorable about greatness’

There’s an aura of self-assuredness to Skubal that stands out as compared with even other aces, according to those around him. He has been called a “bulldog” with a “killer” mentality by his teammates: He won’t back down, no matter the circumstance.

“He comes after you,” Torkelson said. “In big situations, he trusts his best stuff. You kind of know what you’re going to get, and it’s still hard to hit.”

That confidence enables Skubal to put himself in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) 45.7% of the time, more than any other hurler in the game, according to ESPN Research. And until you show you can hit one of his best offers, he’ll just keep throwing it. He has 93 strikeouts on his changeup, second only to Philadelphia Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez.

That mindset is what stands out most about Skubal to Skenes.

“He can go after hitters straight up,” Skenes said. “He gets them out quickly, which is why he pitches deep in games. He does that better than anyone else in the game. But it starts with going right at them. That takes confidence.”

Skubal has a commanding presence, according to Tigers play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti. It doesn’t hurt that his size (6-foot-3 and 240 pounds) naturally creates some intimidation when he is on the mound, but he makes himself known whenever he is in the game.

“On the day the All-Stars were announced last year, the Tigers were in Cincinnati, and he struck out [Elly] De La Cruz and there was this big primal scream — and that’s this indelible memory for me,” Benetti said of Skubal. “Because that is a guy that people hear about that there’s noise about, and he wants that.

“He ends innings and outings at 102 mph because he just wants to show that there is something memorable about greatness, is the way I would put it. He has greatness.”

People buying less fast food as grocery prices remain high

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avrotusa
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Emer Moreau

Business reporter, BBC News

Getty Images A woman in a pink shirt bites into a large burger inside a casual restaurant.Getty Images

People are going out for casual or fast food less this summer compared to last year

People are spending less on fast food this summer but are replacing those meals with smaller treats from the supermarket according to new consumer research.

Casual and fast-food restaurants have seen a 6% drop in customers over the three months to mid-July compared to last summer, research from Worldpanel by Numerator found.

But shoppers were still buying branded groceries instead of swapping for cheaper, own-brand alternatives.

Worldpanel said that grocery price inflation fell marginally from July to August, but consumers are still trying to make savings due to the high cost of everyday essentials.

Coffee shops buck the trend

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said high grocery prices affect people’s spending habits in other areas, like dining out.

“What people pay for their supermarket shopping often impacts their spending across other parts of the high street too, including their eating and drinking habits out of the home,” he said.

“Casual and fast service restaurants especially have seen a decline in visitors over the summer, with trips falling by 6% during the three months to mid-July 2025 – compared with last year.”

But coffee shops bucked this trend, with visits up 3% over the same period.

Mr McKevitt said people were also “still seeking treats in store”.

Sales of branded grocery items grew by 6.1% in August, while sales of own-label alternatives were up by 4.1%. Worldpanel’s report found that was the largest gap in favour of brands since March 2024.

There has been a trend towards people opting for smaller, cheaper ways to treat themselves, according to Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Eating out is one of the first things to go” when people want to cut back on spending, she said.

But Ms Coles said there were “more cost effective ways to get the same reward,” such as takeaway coffees or sweet treats from the supermarket.

She added many were “trading up” to branded treats instead of opting for the own-brand version, because it was still cheaper than a meal out.

Branded sales were “particularly dominant” in personal care, confectionary, soft drinks and hot drinks categories, Mr McKevitt said.

The Worldpanel report found that grocery price inflation was 5% in August, down from 5.2% in July. The cost of chocolate, fresh meat and coffee rose fastest, while champagne and dog food saw the largest drops in price.

What's really behind state bans on lab-grown meat?

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avrotusa
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In 2023, West Coast companies Upside Foods and Good Meat were cleared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin selling their lab-grown meat nationwide. This approval was a groundbreaking moment in history for scientific advancement and the future of animal welfare. 

Lab-grown meat is produced by collecting cell tissue from a living animal and then bathing the cells in nutrients to grow them into muscle tissue. No animals are slaughtered in this process. Each year, a low-end estimate of 1.2 trillion land animals and fish are slaughtered for consumption. Lab-grown meat holds the potential to save a large number of animals per year with its slaughter-free process. 

However, lab-grown meat is not yet available in retail. As it stands, lab-grown meat has not achieved a viable production rate to be sold in stores nationwide. Further innovation is still necessary to increase production speeds and reduce manufacturing costs for the product to succeed. 

Despite this, state policymakers are taking swift action to pass legislation that bans its production and sale before it is made available on store shelves. To complicate matters for lab-grown meat producers, policymakers enforcing the bans are backed by powerful meat industry lobbyists, including Tyson Foods and JBS USA.

The development and sale of lab-grown meat are now banned in 7 states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Indiana, Texas, and Nebraska. Several more states are also considering bans, and many states will likely continue to join the anti-lab-grown meat coalition before the end of the year. 

Policymakers pushing for bans have argued that, without proper labelling, the product is deceptive to consumers. Yet, several states have already passed legislation for transparent labelling of mock meats in stores. Additionally, the USDA proposed the FAIR Labels Act of 2024, which, if passed, would federally require mock meat companies to clearly label their products as “imitation” or “lab-grown.”

And are the policymakers enforcing bans truly concerned for consumers? Nebraska’s recent lab-grown meat ban, approved by Governor Jim Pillen (R), raises many questions. Pillen founded Pillen Family Farms, which is currently the largest pork producer in Nebraska. He also helped found Wholestone Farms, the second-largest pork producer in the country. During his 2022 election campaign, he also received $50,000 from Smithfield Foods, the nation’s largest pork producer, in addition to donations from several other meat industry giants. 

Pillen has an extensive history in livestock production. And lab-grown meat bans cut their competitors out of the market. They sabotage the potential success of lab-grown meat before it has the opportunity to reach a commercial breakthrough. 

Dan Morgan, a Nebraskan cattle rancher, recognized this authoritarian theme when the state-wide ban was being proposed and spoke out against it before the governor signed it into law. Morgan wants the economic freedom to compete with lab-grown products. If cattle ranchers want to prove that traditional farming is superior, they should not have to hide behind federal protections to do so. 

The recent bans take away the people’s freedoms to choose innovative, slaughter-free meat products.

Another drawback is inflation. When government regulation is used to decrease competition in the food industry, it drives price inflation, leading to higher rates of food insecurity among low-income Americans.

Lab-grown meat bans were never about protecting the people; rather, they represent an authoritarian overreach to control what is on people’s plates and decrease consumer choice. This will become another example of protectionism harming the economy, the people it is meant to serve and the animals who suffer. 

Isaac DeBlasio is a Junior Fellow at the Wilberforce Institute.

Intel Stock Jumps as SoftBank Invests $2B in Struggling Chipmaker

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Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images Intel shares entered Tuesday up 18% this year

Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Intel shares entered Tuesday up 18% this year

Intel (INTC) shares are surging 6% in premarket trading Tuesday on news that Japan’s SoftBank Group is making a $2 billion investment in the struggling U.S. chipmaker.

SoftBank will pay $23 for each Intel share, a slight discount to Monday’s closing price of $23.66, the companies announced.

“This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role,” said SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who last December announced plans for the firm to invest around $100 billion in the U.S. with President-elect Donald Trump.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration was in talks to take a stake in the chipmaker, and yesterday reported the U.S. would buy around 10% of Intel by converting some or all of the company’s CHIPS and Science Act grants into equity. Such a stake would make the U.S. the embattled chipmaker’s biggest shareholder, the report said. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, Intel’s second-quarter sales topped analysts’ estimates but the company unexpectedly swung to an adjusted loss and CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced layoffs in a memo to employees. Still, Intel shares entered Tuesday up 18% this year.

Read the original article on Investopedia

Tom Grennan says therapy helps with his body dysmorphia

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Paul Glynn

Culture reporter

BBC Tom Grennan performing on the main stage during BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend at Sefton Park, LiverpoolBBC

Tom Grennan performed during BBC Radio 1’s recent Big Weekend in Liverpool

Singer Tom Grennan has said having therapy has helped him with issues around body dysmorphia, calling himself his “own biggest critic”.

Speaking on You About? – the performer’s BBC podcast with his best friend, broadcaster Roman Kemp – Grennan spoke about how it affected him.

“I definitely have body dysmorphia,” he said. “I’m always constantly thinking I am bigger than I am. Or I’m always pinching my belly. It’s not a healthy mindset at all, and I fully admit that.”

Eating patterns and gym training habits, he noted, can have a big impact on his mental health. “Sometimes I wouldn’t be training for the purpose of staying fit,” he added.

“I’d have a binge and then think, ‘I need to train now to make sure this food isn’t put on to me – which is an unhealthy way of being.”

With reference to how he viewed himself and his own body, the Little Bit of Love singer continued: “I’m at home in the mirror going to my missus, ‘I’m fat’ and she’s like, ‘are you joking?’

“I’m so scared of going back to where I was. I always think I need to stay at this point.”

The singer from Bedford has previously spoken on the same podcast about how being physically attacked on a night out when he was younger changed his life and sent him mentally “spiralling”.

In the latest episode, the 30-year-old revealed he was in therapy for issues around body dysmorphia, which he finds helps to “actually love yourself more”.

Feelings of guilt often follow eating binges, he added. For example, when one biscuit turns into half a pack, he said, he can be left thinking: “I’m gonna be fat. I’m gonna be so unfit.”

What is body dysmorphia?

According to the NHS website, body dysmorphia – or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) – is “a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others.”

It affects both men and women of all ages but is most common in teenagers and young adults.

“Having BDD does not mean you’re vain or self-obsessed,” it continues. “It can be very upsetting and have a big impact on your life.”

Symptoms can include worrying a lot about a specific area of your body and spending a lot of time comparing your looks with other people’s, as well as either looking at yourself in the mirror a lot or avoiding mirrors entirely.

People with body dysmorphia also go to a lot of effort to conceal flaws with clothes and make-up, or pick at their skin.

TV and radio presenter Kemp shared some of his own experiences with Grennan on the pressures of body image in show business.

“I can’t look at a picture of myself if it’s on the day because it will upset me for the rest of the day,” he noted.

“I’ll be judging everything, and it won’t be about what I’m doing, it’ll be about how I look.”

He recalled witnessing one extreme example of such pressures for one young woman at a fashion show in Milan. “We were doing the rehearsal, and she fainted on stage,” he remembered.

“We tried to give her food, because she needs to eat, but [she was] straight up refusing,” he added.

“I saw that on a regular basis.”

Kemp also recounted how someone in a pub recently told him he looked “a lot fatter on telly”.

He said: “I fluctuate a lot, but that’s just because sometimes you’ll be working more, like anyone.”

Getty Tom Grennan wearing an England shirt while playing at Soccer Aid 2025Getty

Grennan also played in this year’s Soccer Aid match at Old Trafford

Grennan went on to tell BBC Breakfast on Tuesday how he had channelled heartbreak, hard life lessons and some advice from his mum too into his new album, Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn’t Want to Be.

“I was lost and I was young and I was stupid sometimes, and my mum could see something wasn’t right,” said the singer, who has two previous number one albums to his name.

“And a lot of people could see, but I was very much [like], ‘no I need to be going full at it and doing everything I can to become a big star or whatever’.

He added: “But actually none of that matters. Peace of mind is my mantra at the moment.

“When you’ve got peace of mind everything falls into place and you can see your way out of anything.”

If you need mental health support this link provides information about how to get help.

Senate Dems urge Trump to walk back chip deal

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avrotusa
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