DETROIT — Before the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles played 12 innings and combined for 19 runs, 19 hits, four errors and a wild array of twists and turns, people whispered the questions while standing in stairwells and seated at lunchroom tables.Will the Tigers trade Tarik Skubal?What are the odds he goes?Is there any way he stays?In what might have been Skubal’s final start as a Detroit Tiger, the Orioles won 10-9, staging a dramatic comeback from down 7-0 entering the seventh inning. This single game is unlikely to determine whether the Tigers trade Skubal. There’s too much at stake to let emotions rule such decisions. Still, Wednesday sure felt like a perfect embodiment of the journey Skubal and the Tigers have traveled — inspiring at some points, exhausting at others.Skubal walked in from the bullpen before his start with a camera following his every move. He seemed emotional as he strutted toward the dugout. With trade whispers circulating, the outside world spent the past 24 hours wondering whether Skubal would even make this start as scheduled.Before the game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch gave the perfect soundbite, saying just enough to entice fans who are still dreaming of the Tigers buying and making a remarkable run.“Pitching Tarik today was never up in the air, unless it was external,” Hinch said. “We’ve continued to talk about winning series, winning weeks, winning months. It’s how I talk. It’s how Scott (Harris) and Jeff (Greenberg) talk about our team.”Skubal entered the day with 999 career strikeouts, one away from a meaningful milestone. A student of the game’s history, Skubal is well aware 1,000 punchouts is nothing in the grand scheme. At one point, he nodded over to Justin Verlander, seated two lockers down.“The guy next to me has got 3,500 of them,” Skubal said. “Nonetheless, they’re special to me.”Something about the achievement still felt bigger to Skubal than most so far in his career. Perhaps a small bit of history — only 16 other pitchers have recorded 1,000 strikeouts in a Tigers uniform — added to the gravitas of Wednesday’s start. Once an unheralded lefty buried in the minor-league bullpen, Skubal is now the most sought-after pitcher in the game.“You get a little bit nostalgic in those moments,” Skubal said. “My story. I don’t know if I could have convinced myself when I was 19 that I was going to strike out 1,000 guys in the big leagues.”