Guardians Knock Off Skubal, Tigers In Wild Start to Series

Tuesday night kicked off a pivotal series for the battle of 1st place in the American League Central Division. Progressive Field was the host to the Guardians and Tigers in game one of three in the final week of the regular season. With the playoffs looming, wild card, division, and home field advantage are at stake this week! The buzz walking into the stadium Tuesday truly felt like a playoff atmosphere as 29,000 strong came to support the Guardians. It was raucous from the first to the final pitch. Add to that, Cleveland’s favorite son and Price Is Right host Drew Carey threw out the first pitch which would fire up the fans even more.

Cleveland Manager Steven Vogt sent his hottest pitcher, Gavin Williams, out onto the mound. On the other side, Detroit called on defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The history between the Tigers’ ace and the Guardians had gone in Detroit’s favor outside of a grand slam given up by Skubal in the wild card game last October. Heading into the matchup Tuesday, only two Guardians had a batting average of about .250 against Tarik Skubal, which were Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez.

Tuesday's game started off as a pitching duel as the first two innings featured shut-down baseball by both pitchers. Suddenly, in the top of the third, Detroit capitalized off of back-to-back doubles by Zack McKinstry and Wenceel Pérez. This gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead after three innings.

Cleveland’s Gavin Williams settled in after that, finding a smooth rhythm, cruising to the 6th. Williams carved up Detroit batters with his curveball, but one mistake on a fastball down the middle to All-Star slugger Riley Greene added to the Tigers’ lead. A 367-foot home run to right center field made the Detroit lead 2-0 through the middle of the 6th.

Consistent run support has been an issue for Cleveland all season long. Gavin Williams finished with 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, and a season-high 12 strikeouts. This performance could not end in a losing effort. The Guardians stepped up in the bottom of the 6th to save the day. After a series of bunts and swinging bunts, Tarik Skubal’s mental fatigue would finally show, and the Guardians would be sharks in the water, smelling blood. Skubal finished the inning by giving up 3 runs (1 earned) after a wild pitch, balk, and a between-the-legs error to first base would doom his evening. Cleveland’s David Fry took one for the team during that inning as the ball ricocheted off his bat and hit Fry in the face, leaving the former All-Star injured on the ground. After several minutes, Fry was carted off and taken to a nearby hospital where he was evaluated further. Skubal’s facial expression revealed his mindset was elsewhere, setting up the Guardians to capitalize and take the lead for good at 3-2 after six.

In the bottom of the seventh, Steven Vogt made a brilliant move to pinch-hit Daniel Schneeman in place of Angel Martinez with runners on second and third and no one out. Schneeman delivered with a 2-run RBI single, giving the Guardians a couple of much-needed insurance runs.

With Cleveland leading 5-2 after 7, the Guardians' bullpen closed the game strong, throwing 7 strikeouts through the final three innings to seal the deal for the home team. A season-high 19 strikeouts for the Guardians completely shut down any chance of a Detroit rally.

On July 6th, Cleveland sat at 40-48, 15.5 games out of the Tigers. After Tuesday’s thrilling win, the Guardians are now tied for first place with Detroit at 85-72. If the Guardians can finish this week and win the Central Division, it will be the largest comeback in MLB history. It is truly amazing to remember how unpredictable the great game of baseball really is. One moment you’re eight games under .500, and two months later, you’re tied for first place. Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and that definitely seems appropriate with this season’s Cleveland Guardians.

The series between the Guardians and Tigers continues Wednesday and Thursday, with both games set for first pitch at 6:40 PM.