CLEVELAND — A remarkable and improbable series of happenings spanning many weeks has led to the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians being neck-and-neck for the AL Central lead with only a handful of games remaining. So, it seems fitting that the contest that cemented this tie atop the division — Cleveland’s thrilling, 5-2 triumph against Detroit on Tuesday at Progressive Field — showcased one of the most outlandish half-innings one could imagine, a true testament to the unpredictable and bizarre nature of baseball.
Entering the latter half of the sixth inning, Tarik Skubal, as he often does, appeared to be in command. The current AL Cy Young Award recipient was charged with reversing the struggling fortunes of a Tigers team that had witnessed its once-comfortable advantage in the AL Central completely dissipate over the preceding month. And during the initial five innings against the rival Guardians — whose incredibly strong performance in September, combined with Detroit’s downturn, culminated in an unforeseen divisional showdown — Skubal displayed the exceptional abilities that define him.
The four-seam fastball was lively, reaching speeds up to 101 mph. The sinker was darting into the strike zone at nearly impossible angles. The slider and knuckle-curve exhibited sharp breaks. And, naturally, the changeup was confounding opposing batters. When Skubal struck out David Fry with a 99.6 mph fastball to conclude the fourth inning, he confidently departed the mound toward the dugout, assured that another masterful outing was underway. Cleveland managed to place two runners on base in the fifth, but Skubal extinguished the threat, ending the inning with his pitch count at a mere 74.
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The Tigers had provided Skubal with a two-run advantage, thanks to an RBI double by Wenceel Perez in the third and a solo home run by Riley Greene in the sixth. Considering Skubal’s dominant performance, these two runs seemed like a substantial buffer upon which Detroit could rely to secure a victory that would end their six-game losing streak.
However, the Guardians harbored alternative intentions.
With Skubal at his peak, attempting to match his power was a futile strategy, particularly given Cleveland’s lack of offensive strength; the Guardians hold the 28th spot in MLB for slugging percentage, 30th for barrel rate, 30th for hard-hit rate, and 30th for average exit velocity. Instead, Steven Kwan initiated the sixth with a well-executed bunt on Skubal’s first offering, sprinting to first with the hope of igniting a rally.
Before the enthusiastic Progressive Field crowd of nearly 30,000 could settle down following Kwan’s successful gamble, the No. 2 hitter, Angel Martínez, followed suit with another bunt on the first pitch of his face-off against Skubal. The ball rolled slowly down the first-base line with calculated precision, forcing Skubal to rush forward and either attempt a challenging play or secure the ball and allow another runner on base with no outs and José Ramírez coming up next.
Skubal chose the former, but in an unbelievable manner: Facing home plate, he bent down, grabbed the ball, and flipped it between his legs toward first, resembling a football hike. The ball soared over the head of first baseman Spencer Torkelson and into foul territory, enabling Kwan to reach third base and Martínez to easily advance to second.
“He was in a difficult situation as a left-handed pitcher to make that play in general and didn’t want to turn and throw it down the line,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch commented after the game. “So instead, he opted for the emergency flip, which is not an easy maneuver, and it clearly didn’t result in a favorable outcome.”
Skubal echoed this sentiment, describing the Martínez ball as an “impossible play” while emphasizing his determination to prevent a second consecutive bunt hit at all costs. He also revealed that the between-the-legs throw was something he had attempted before: “Yes, in Miami, actually,” he stated. “Same outcome.”
Indeed, Skubal tried a nearly identical play two years ago against the Marlins, when Jon Berti chopped a ball down the first-base line. The result was almost the same, but the circumstances could not have been more different. That occurred in the second inning of a July game on a Sunday afternoon in Miami. Skubal wasn’t yet the pitcher he is now, and the Tigers’ record stood at 47-59. Trying something like that then? Acceptable.
But on Tuesday, during the most important game of the season thus far, with Guardians players and their fans craving any semblance of momentum? That was a questionable decision.
“That is an example of an unusual mistake piling up on us at the worst possible moment,” Hinch noted.
Of course, this was an exceptionally demanding play for Skubal; expecting him to record an out without difficulty feels unfair. Nonetheless, his decision to attempt a low-probability toss instead of securing the ball and keeping Kwan and Martínez at first and second proved extremely costly.
And so, with the bunts having amplified the noise level in the stadium, Ramírez stepped up to try to capitalize. As Cleveland’s most potent slugging threat, Ramírez was the one Guardian Skubal didn’t need to worry about attempting a bunt. But baseball often has a way of surprising you. When Ramírez swung forcefully at a 99.9-mph fastball with two strikes, the outcome was almost the same as the two bunts that preceded it: a weak grounder up the third-base line, poorly struck with a harmless exit velocity of 65.5 mph, and too slow for third baseman Zach McKinstry to field cleanly and make a play. Kwan raced home for Cleveland’s first run. Martínez advanced to third.
The unexpected rally was far from over. However, the game took a disturbing turn before play could continue. With still no outs and runners on the corners, Fry came to the plate. Sticking to the theme of the inning, he squared around to attempt a bunt, hoping to induce another defensive miscue. But Skubal’s 99.1-mph fastball climbed high and inside, hitting Fry directly in the nose and sending him to the ground.
Although it was ruled a foul ball, replays clearly indicated that the pitch didn’t graze Fry’s bat at all, instead making direct contact with his face — a frightening situation considering the velocity. The crowd fell silent, and players on both teams, including Skubal, appeared visibly distressed. Thankfully, Fry was able to stand up and be transported via cart to a nearby hospital, where he is expected to remain overnight for observation and testing.
“I’ve already contacted him,” Skubal mentioned afterward. “I’m hoping to receive a text from him either tonight or tomorrow morning to ensure he’s okay. His well-being is more important than a baseball game.”
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt reported after the game that Fry remained conscious throughout and the team would provide an update as soon as they could on Wednesday.
Such a distressing injury scare is difficult to overcome, but the high stakes of the moment forced both teams to refocus immediately — and it took only one pitch for the chaos to resume. Rookie George Valera replaced Fry in the batter’s box with a 2-2 count, and Skubal’s first pitch to the new batter was an errant changeup that eluded catcher Dillon Dingler, allowing Martínez to score the tying run, with Ramírez advancing to second.
Valera eventually struck out, but then, while facing Gabriel Arias, Skubal committed a balk for only the second time in his career, allowing Ramírez to advance to third, still with one out. He then scored easily when Arias hit a soft grounder to first base, marking Cleveland’s third run of the inning and giving them a lead they would not relinquish.
Before Tuesday’s sixth inning, Skubal had allowed just one run in 27 innings against the Guardians this season, with 37 strikeouts and only five walks. Then, over the course of five plate appearances — with an average exit velocity of 52.8 mph and without a single ball leaving the infield, except for the one Skubal threw himself — the Guardians manufactured three runs. Because of course they did.
“They demonstrated that the team that made the most contact was rewarded for it, even if it wasn’t solid contact,” Hinch noted. “They did a good job with that.”
To his point, Detroit’s disastrous inning wouldn’t have been as significant had the Tigers been more productive on offense. But Cleveland starter Gavin Williams had an impressive night himself, matching a career high with 12 strikeouts over six solid innings of work. Detroit struck out a total of 19 times on Tuesday, the most for the franchise in a nine-inning game since the 2019 team — a team that would ultimately lose 114 games — reached that same ignominious milestone on two separate occasions.
This Tigers team will not lose 114 games. In fact, this Tigers team may still win the AL Central, despite an incredibly poor stretch of play that puts them at risk of making history for all the wrong reasons. With Tuesday’s victory, Cleveland clinched the season series over Detroit, giving the Guardians a crucial tiebreaker should the two teams end up with the same record after 162 games. However, there remains ample opportunity for the Tigers to avoid that outcome and fight their way back into a desirable playoff position.
“We need to put today’s game behind us and prepare to play again tomorrow. The team across the field doesn’t feel sorry for us, so there’s no reason we should feel sorry for ourselves,” Skubal remarked. “The chance to come out there and win tomorrow and win a series — I believe that’s what truly matters.”
“We need to move on to tomorrow and strive for a better outcome,” Hinch stated. “Everyone understands that. There’s no concealing anything other than showing up ready to compete.”
