In what for most of the season looked like it would go down as the Detroit Tigers best since 1984 — the last time Detroit won the World Series — the lefty ace at the top of their starting rotation, Tarik Skubal, has led the way.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner appears on his way to second straight, leading the AL in ERA (2.23), WAR (6.5) and WHIP (0.882), and second in strikeouts with 233, behind Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox (249).
But Skubal appeared to fall apart on the mound on Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians, after a horrifying moment when he hit Cleveland designated hitter David Fry in the face with a 99 mph fastball.
Fry had squared around to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Skubal’s pitch apparently nicked his bat before impacting Fry’s face, because it was ruled a foul ball. But Fry was carted off the field and transported to Lutheran Medical Center in Cleveland for further evaluation.
The Tigers‘ ace starter was clearly shaken up by the frightening incident.
Tigers Lose 14-Game Divisional Lead
The Tigers entered the sixth inning ahead in the game 2-0. The Guardians did to exactly shell Skubal, as Steven Kwan bunted for a base hit, followed by another bunt by Angel Martinez, who ended up on second after a throwing error by Skubal.
A single by Jose Ramirez followed, scoring Kwan. Fry’s at-bat came next. Then the wheels came off. Perhaps still shaken by seeing the ball strike Fry in the face, Skubal let two more runs score on a wild pitch and a balk.
Coming into this game, #Tigers ace Tarik Skubal had 10 wild pitches, seven errors and one balk … for his career,” noted Detroit News reporter Tony Paul. “He accomplished all three in the sixth inning tonight.”
The Tigers went on to lose the game 5-2. With the win, Cleveland won the season series with Detroit, giving them the tiebreaker for playoff qualification. And because they now have the same record as Detroit, Cleveland owns first place in the AL Central — completing a collapse that saw the Tigers blow a 14-game divisional lead.
Historic Tigers Collapse
The Tigers held that 14-game lead as late as July 8. Since then, they have won 26 and lost 37 and are now in second place. How historic has the Tigers‘ fold been?
On July 9, 1978, the Boston Red Sox held a nine game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the AL East division — in an era when each league has just two divisions and no Wild Card playoff qualifiers.
The New York Yankees, however, were 14 games behind the Red Sox in fourth place on July 19, in what was then a six-team division. The Red Sox went 37-38 the rest of the way. But the Yankees surged with a 52-41 record to win the divisional pennant in a one-game tiebreaking playoff.
Then there were the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers, who led the New York Giants by 13 1/2 games on August 11 of a 154-game series.
But they could not hold off the Giants who went on an 18-game winning streak, and won 37 of their final 44 games to tie the National League.
At that time, there were two eight-team leagues with no divisions and no playoffs — except for tiebreakers. The Giants won the tiebreaking playoff with the “Shot Heard Round the World” walk-off home run by Bobby Thomson, completing the Dodgers collapse.
Tarik Skubal Melts Down After Horrifying Incident, Costs Tigers 1st Place