Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal throws during the second inning of Game 1 of the American League Wild Card baseball playoff against the Cleveland Guardians series in Cleveland, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Fresh off a stunning collapse in the regular season, the Detroit Tigers were supposed to be an easy out in the postseason.
The Tigers came stumbling into Progressive Field in Cleveland on Tuesday after having blown a 15 1/2-game lead in the American League Central and finishing second to the Guardians by one game. No team in baseball history had let a lead that large slip away.
However, the Tigers still have right-hander Tarik Skubal, and no pitcher is more capable of stopping a slump than the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.
It might be overwrought to say Skubal saved the Tigers’ season in Game 1 of an AL Wild Card Series. What he did do, though, was breathe life into his team.
Skubal pitched 7 2/3 brilliant innings on a brilliantly sunny afternoon in Cleveland to lead the Tigers over the Guardians 2-1 in the best-of-three series.
Skubal set a career-high with 14 strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits and three walks. While postseason performance is not taken into account by the Baseball Writers’ Association when it comes to voting on its awards, Skubal showed why he is favored to win a second Cy Young.
The Guardians’ only run in the taut game came when Gabriel Arias chopped an RBI single over Skubal’s head in the fourth inning to pull Cleveland into a 1-1 tie. The Tigers managed just two unearned runs off losing pitcher Gavin Williams.
“The way Tarik Skubal threw the ball, I don’t know if anybody scores off of him,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He was absolutely outstanding. Took a little bit of Guardball turmoil there just to get one. And really battled. But he was some kind of special.
“His stuff was — he had everything. The fastball is up around 101 (mph). At times, he was hitting his spots. The changeup had a ton of depth. He was landing the slider up and away from the right. He was bouncing it, landed a few curveballs. He had everything that he has. That’s what big-time pitchers do.”
Big-time pitchers usually come through in big-time situations. Skubal did that on Tuesday.
Skubal retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before running into the slight hiccup in the fourth inning. After the Guardians scored their run, Skubal set down 11 of his last 12 batters, including eight by strikeout.
Skubal downplayed the significance of his performance, including tying the Tigers’ 53-year-old record for most strikeouts in a game. Joe Coleman fanned 14 Oakland Athletics in Game 3 of the 1972 American League Championship Series.
“It means a lot to take the ball Game 1,” Skubal said. “To have the trust of our whole organization, teammates, coaching staff, it means a lot. And it doesn’t really matter how we got here. We got in. Everybody’s in the same boat. And we’re up 1-0 in a best-of-three. So, it doesn’t really matter how you get here, as long as you get in.”
Which is the attitude the Tigers are taking, even after losing 13 of their last 16 regular-season games
“One of the things that we believe in is playing your whole schedule and making sure that you post for 162 (games),” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We had done so well and banked so many wins at the beginning of the season that it allowed for a tough stretch to challenge that.
“But the sense of accomplishment is the same. We don’t need to apologize for getting to October the way that we did because we put up the wins, and we played well enough to be in October.”
Skubal’s gem came on the final day of September, but it raised the Tigers’ hopes for October.