'Outstanding' Tarik Skubal leads Tigers past Guardians in G1 - ESPN

CLEVELAND — When it comes to winning in the MLB postseason, circa 2025, you hear a lot about high-octane bullpens and home run hitters. But when you have a throwback ace like Tarik Skubal on your side, starting pitching and a little small-ball can still get it done.

Skubal lifted the Detroit Tigers to 1-0 lead in their AL wild-card series against the Cleveland Indians with perhaps the most dominant outing of a career that's been full of them, tying a 53-year-old Detroit postseason record with 14 strikeouts and pitching into the eighth inning of a terse 2-1 win.

Joe Coleman set the Tigers' postseason strikeout mark in the 1972 ALCS against Oakland.

«It doesn't really matter,» Skubal said. «Winning is what matters to me. It's mattered to me all year. I think winning is the most important thing in sports.»

The outing became more dominant the deeper Skubal worked into the game. According to ESPN Research, Skubal topped 100 miles per hour with a pitch 11 times, six more than he's ever had in a start. He topped 100 five times alone in the seventh when he struck out the side, the last whiff coming on a game-high 101.2 miles-per-hour laser to get Brayan Rocchio.

If it looked like Skubal was emptying his take, it's because he was: Based on his usage during the season, Skubal figured that would be his last frame. But Detroit manager A.J. Hinch wanted three more batters from the AL's reigning Cy Young winner — and the favorite to win it again.

«I thought my outing was coming to a close,» Skubal said. «But I was ready to go back out there. Never going to take myself out of a game.»

Among the 28 batters Skubal faced, only three managed to get the ball out of the infield. None of those three came in the fourth inning when Cleveland