CLEVELAND — Tarik Skubal struck out a record-setting 14 over 7 2/3 innings and Riley Greene scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on Zach McKinstry’s safety squeeze to give the Detroit Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of their American League wild-card series.
Reigning Cy Young Award winner Skubal (1-0) allowed one run on three hits and walked three in a 107-pitch gem. The left-hander made his third consecutive start against AL Central champion Cleveland in a 13-day span and beat them for the first time.
Skubal broke the mark of 13 strikeouts in a wild-card game accomplished by the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2020. Will Vest recorded the final four outs for the save.
“I was just worried about executing each pitch and trying to do my best pitch-to-pitch and do what I do that makes me a great pitcher,” Skubal said.
The Guardians put a runner on third with no outs in the ninth as Jose Ramirez singled and advanced on a throwing error by shortstop Javier Baez. Vest quelled the threat by striking out George Valera, tagging out Ramirez on Kyle Manzardo’s one-hopper back to the mound and inducing a popout by pinch hitter C.J. Kayfus.
“You hope with a runner on third and no out that we could hit a ball to the outfield,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Wednesday in Cleveland.
Both Tigers runs off Guardians starter Gavin Williams (0-1) were unearned thanks to errors by right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez in the first and first baseman Jhonkensy Noel in the seventh. The right-hander scattered five hits and one walk over six-plus innings, striking out eight.
“It’s a three-game series for a reason,” Williams said. “We’ve got to win two, and that’s what we’re trying to do starting (Wednesday). I wish the first inning never happened. I left a couple pitches up in the zone and they hit them.”
Greene doubled against Williams to lead off the seventh and moved to third when first baseman Noel dropped the throw from Brayan Rocchio on Wenceel Perez’s grounder. McKinstry’s one-out bunt to Noel came against reliever Hunter Gaddis, easily bringing home Greene.
The Tigers got on the board in the top of the first on Spencer Torkelson’s single to left field that scored Kerry Carpenter from second. Carpenter got into scoring position when Rodriguez mishandled his single while attempting to pick up the ball.
Gutsy baserunning by Angel Martinez enabled Cleveland to tie it 1-1 in the fourth. Martinez was on second when Gabriel Arias hit a chopper over Skubal, who fielded the ball behind the mound and fired home off his back foot.
Home plate umpire Shane Livensparger initially called Martinez out, but it was overturned on a replay challenge by Vogt that revealed Martinez’s left hand touched the plate prior to Dillon Dingler’s tag.
The Guardians won eight of the teams’ 13 regular-season contests after beating Detroit in five games in the 2024 AL Division Series.
“Anyone new to the Tigers and Guardians, this is what they look like. Like every game,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “Obviously, Tarik set an incredible tone for us. He’s been incredible for us all season, but what a performance at the biggest moments in the biggest stage to get us in a great position to win the game.”
–Brian Dulik, Field Level Media
