Tarik Skubal and A.J. Hinch's Reactions Miss the Mark Amid Tigers' Collapse

Tarik Skubal and A.J. Hinch's postgame comments shrug off the impact of Skubal's crucial error as the Detroit Tigers' epic collapse comes to fruition.

Sep 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts after Cleveland Guardians designated hitter David Fry (6) was hit in the face by a foul ball in the sixth inning at Progressive Field. | David Richard-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers' worst nightmare came to fruition on Tuesday night, as their historic collapse was fully realized at the hands of the charging Cleveland Guardians.

The Tigers tried everything to prevent this. Relying on Skubal, their ace left-hander who has been far and away the team's MVP this season, Detroit shuffled its rotation to give him two more starts, including the opener against the Guardians.

At first, everything seemed to be going to plan. Skubal wiggled out of trouble through the first five innings. He found himself staked with a two-run lead after a Riley Greene solo shot in the top of the sixth. Then the unthinkable happened.

Two bunts, an infield single, a wild pitch, a balk and an RBI-groundout later, suddenly Cleveland had a 3-2 lead over Detroit. Not a single ball put in play left the infield, nor did any ball exceed 65.5 mph in exit velocity.

The turning point came on the second bunt of the inning, an attempted sacrifice by Guardians center fielder Angel Martinez, which dribbled towards the first base line. That led to Skubal attempting a dangerous between-the-legs flip that sailed over Spencer Torkelson's outstretched glove.

After the game, both Skubal and manager A.J. Hinch reacted to the fateful gaffe, noting the difficulty of the play. However, neither acknowledged the elephant in the room: Skubal's hero play was the catalyst for the unraveling.

Postgame Comments Neglect How Things Could Have Been Different

Evan Petzold / USA TODAY NETWORK

Their comments, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, noted the difficulty of the situation. However, neither man acknowledged how things could have gone differently.

"He was in a tough position as a left-handed pitcher to make that play in general," Hinch said. "He didn't want to wheel and throw it down the line, so instead, he chose to do the emergency flip, which is not something that is easy to do and obviously didn't produce a good play. That is an example of an uncharacteristic mistake piling up on us at the worst time."

"It's a tough play," Skubal added. "There's nothing really I could do. It didn't end up mattering, so who cares?"

All of this is true. It was an exceptionally difficult play and served as the spark Cleveland needed to take the lead, which it never relinquished. In the heat of the moment, it's not surprising that Skubal would try to make the spectacular play nor is it a surprise that his manager would back him up.

But both miss the fact that there was another option; Skubal could've simply eaten the ball. Had that happened, the Guardians would have had men on first and second with no outs rather than runners on second and third. The double play would have still been in effect. The pitch sequencing likely would have been different, too.

No one can say for sure what would have happened if Skubal declined to attempt a throw to first. However, what is for sure is that it was a dangerous play that had a slim chance of working out. If the Tigers want to save their playoff lives and make noise in the playoffs, they're going to have to make fundamentally sound plays.

In this case, they didn't, and it cost them dearly.