Edouard Julien was not beating his chest on Friday, the day after he took reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal deep in a 4-3 extra-inning loss to Detroit at Target Field.

Julien did, however, acknowledge an injection of confidence.

“Best pitcher in the game,” he noted.

The clout wound up in the plaza behind the right field bleachers, and was the first by a left-handed hitter against lefty Skubal all season. Julien also singled and sliced a hard liner into left against Skubal, the AL earned-run average leader (2.42 in 24 starts) and a favorite to repeat as the league Cy Young winner.

“Ed had a great day,” manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game.

It’s the kind of attention Julien has been trying to demand since returning from a long stint at Class AAA St. Paul

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