Jake Rogers slapped Tarik Skubal in the middle of a game.

It was June 3 in Arlington, Texas, when Skubal — the ace of the Detroit Tigers' starting rotation — stopped play because he felt like he had something in his right eye. Rogers, who has worked as the catcher for all of Skubal's starts, jogged to the mound at Globe Life Field to examine his batterymate. He investigated by poking just beneath Skubal's eye with his left index finger, and then, for no reason in particular, he slapped Skubal softly on the other side of his face with his right hand.

"I gave him a little love tap there," Rogers said.

Skubal couldn't help but smile.

"He's a beauty," Skubal said.

Skubal, who received eye drops from a trainer after the slap, then went on to complete six innings of one-run ball against the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers, is the frontrunner to win the American League Cy Young Award.

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The 27-year-old, a nasty left-hander from the ninth round of the 2018 draft, has a 1.92 ERA with 15 walks and 96 strikeouts across 79⅔ innings in 13 starts in the 2024 season, averaging 6.1 innings per start. Among AL pitchers, Skubal ranks second in ERA (1.91), third in strikeout rate (31.1%), eighth in walk rate (4.9%), first in FIP (2.18) and second in fWAR (2.9).

Rogers calls almost every pitch.

"Most times, I know what pitch is coming before he calls it," Skubal said. "Once a game, maybe I have a gut thing that I want to go to, and that's about it. Most other times, we're on the same page for everything. If it is a shake, Rog understands why I'm shaking, and then that at-bat will change and maybe that inning will change.

"He's got great feel back there in his game plans, ability to read hitters, ability to read swings and understanding that guys are up there to try to hit my fastball but still trusting my fastball to anybody. He calls the game very aggressive, and that's the way I like to pitch."

Skubal and Rogers — an elite pitcher-catcher pairing — crossed paths for the first time in 2019's spring training, but they didn't become friends until spending time together in the 2020 season at the alternate training site at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minor leagues.

All the Triple-A players, including Skubal and Rogers, were housed in the same apartment complex in Toledo.

"We were breaking a lot of the rules," Skubal said.

"For what was going on in the world, it was a pretty fun time," Rogers said.

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Skubal and Rogers didn't see each other at the field, aside from bullpens and simulated games, because hitters and pitchers were separated in different clubhouses to protect from a COVID-19 outbreak at the alternate site in Toledo. After practices, the players gathered in the apartment complex — a quarantine of Triple-A players — to play video games — specifically, Call of Duty.

That's when Skubal and Rogers became close friends.

"I think we have a better relationship off the field than we do on the field," said Skubal, who spent two weeks with Rogers at the alternate site before making his MLB debut in August 2020. "That's not to say we don't get along on the field. It's just, that's how close I am with that guy."

Skubal and Rogers worked together in MLB for the first time in the 2021 season. They have spent the past two seasons together in the big leagues, but not before recovering from significant elbow injuries. Rogers underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2021 and returned in April 2023; Skubal underwent flexor tendon surgery in August 2022 and returned in July 2023.

BATTLING BACK: How Tigers' Tarik Skubal overcame major elbow surgery, became elite starting pitcher

Before every game, Skubal and Rogers complete the USA TODAY crossword puzzle as part of their individual pregame routines. The daily practice began in 2021 with Skubal, Rogers and left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander.

These days, it's just Skubal and Rogers.

"He used to do it every once in a while," Rogers said, "and now, he's doing it every day."

Skubal has improved significantly at the USA TODAY crossword, thanks to lessons learned from Alexander and Rogers along the way, but he still asks Rogers for help.

"I'd say, every other day I need good help," Skubal said, "but some other days I can get it. Today, I got it by myself. Typically, if you can get going and get some clues, it helps you out. If you get stuck in one area, and then you get one word, it'll unlock like 15 words. He'll help me get the one. He's like, 'OK, this is the one that will unlock the puzzle.' And then I'll be able to do a lot of it."

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Skubal and Rogers also exchange at least one text message every single day, whether the Tigers are in spring training, the regular season or the offseason.

It's because Skubal and Rogers play Wordle, a web-based game in which players have six attempts to guess a daily five-letter word that's the same for all players. They have texted each other their results every day for the past two years. There's usually lively banter between them, especially if someone doesn't get the word within the allotted six guesses.

"I think that speaks to the relationship," Skubal said.

The relationship carries over the field in the way Skubal trusts Rogers to call pitches. With Rogers in charge, Skubal can focus solely on executing as many pitches as possible without worrying about anything else.

Skubal bullies hitters with his high-velocity fastball and puts them away with his changeup and slider; Rogers is an expert at executing game plans.

PLAN OF ATTACK: Tigers' Tarik Skubal is dominating thanks to his obsession with first-pitch strikes

The Tigers' ace ranks first in MLB with a 2.36 ERA in 28 starts since July 4, 2023, when he returned from flexor tendon surgery, ahead of Corbin Burnes (2.41), Zack Wheeler (2.68) and Cole Ragans (2.68) during that stretch.

Rogers has caught 25 of those 28 starts, including the most recent 17, and all 13 in 2024.

"It's fun to catch everybody, but it's always a little bit more fun to catch the guy that can get everybody out," Rogers said. "Everyone's coming to the plate saying, 'Slow it down, please throw me something I can hit.' (First baseman Spencer Torkelson) was telling me guys are going to first base saying, 'I don't know how I hit that.' I like him as a person, but also, catching him is a lot of fun."

Manager A.J. Hinch doesn't like personal catchers, but he's sticking with the Skubal-Rogers connection because of the consistent success. The Tigers have won 10 of 13 games when Skubal starts, and in those games, Rogers has four of his five home runs.

Skubal and Rogers feel like they're on the same brainwave when they're carving up hitters, an example of their professional relationship, but the personal relationship is defined by Rogers feeling comfortable enough to slap Skubal's face on national television during a mound visit in Texas.

They'll forever look back on the slap as a funny moment in what's shaping up to be an incredible, award-winning season — and one they'll never forget.

"It's been great," Rogers said. "We get along very well. We have the same kind of humor and stuff like that. It's been good."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal and Jake Rogers: Friends, crossword fans, batterymates