On Tuesday afternoon, to kick off the 2025 Major League Baseball postseason, the Cleveland Guardians, winners of the American League Central took a slow look at the mound and realized their fate. The 6’3, hard-throwing lefty with the hefty shadow and huge spikes to fill, number 29, Tarik Skubal stepped on the rubber.
With a stone-cold look on his face and ice in his veins, the reigning Cy Young winner told the city of Detroit, “I got this!” With the monumental collapse in their rearview and the regular season no longer relevant, the Tigers sought out revenge.
Same Skubal Different Start
Where do I begin with this guy? First, please look up the definition of dominate. Now ask the Cleveland Guardians who their “Daddy” is? The answer, at least this season, is number 29 of the Detroit Tigers. Skubal made his fifth start against this division rival, and his numbers were astonishing. Entering the Wildcard game, Skubs had a 1-1 record against the Guardians, which may not sound dominating, but keep reading. In the four regular season starts against their division rivals, he posted a 0.64 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched!
Looking at those numbers, any lineup, especially Cleveland’s, would be acting like Jamie Lee Curtis running from Michael Myers. Only to have Skubal standing right behind them after they ran miles away. The postseason was no different for “Skubee Doo!” The guy pitched 7.2 innings, buzzing through 14 Guardians and only allowing the one run. This adds to his Cy Young resume, as if he needed it!
The Tigers Eke Out Win Behind Great Pitching
The Tigers were quick to hit the scoreboard in Game 1 of the Wildcard series against the Guardians. Their streaky offense was able to muster up a run in the first inning. A clutch two-out flare off the bat of Spencer Torkelson, just out of the reach of the infielder, scored Kerry Carpenter coming around from second base.
The Tigers kept the lead until the fourth inning, when Cleveland proved that sometimes you just need to put the ball in play. After one infield single and a walk, Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias hit a soft chopper over Skubal’s head. The chopper was so slow and high indeed that the runner scored from second on the play that was reversed after review.
Detroit regained the lead in the seventh after a sac bunt from 2025 All-Star Zach McKinstry. In a world of launch angles and strikeouts, manager AJ Hinch and the Tigers executed the small-ball aspect to perfection. This would make it 2-1 with Skubs still out there.
Will Vest was called upon for a little extra duty, coming in to get the final four outs. If you thought the eighth inning was exciting with Vest stranding the runner at third, the ninth had you on a roller coaster. The known “Tiger Killer,” Jose Ramirez, led off the inning with a single and then a throwing error allowed him to stand on third base with no outs.
With the tying run on third, and one out, Ramirez breaks for home on contact with the pitch. Unfortunately for Cleveland, the ball was dribbled right back to the pitcher, Vest, who caught him in a rundown and Ramirez was tagged out. The Tigers escaped with the victory and can close the Guardians out tomorrow. Skubal and the Tigers have a chance to return the favor of sending them home last season.
Final Thoughts
I know it is no longer the regular season, but voters, please look at this career-high 14-strikeout performance by Tarik Skubal. This man deserves to (as the kids would say) run it back as the Cy Young Award winner. Now that the almost monumental collapse is behind this team, they must look forward and believe they still have a chance to make a great run to the World Series. One more game to get their revenge on Cleveland. Detroit fans, at least we can say we were not the Mets!
