Heinous Tarik Skubal error, scary David Fry moment sum up latest Tigers meltdown

When the Detroit Tigers rearranged their starting rotation to ensure Tarik Skubal would get two more regular season starts, manager AJ Hinch was giving the team the best possible chance to stave off a collapse. The early returns? Bad.

The Tigers lost again on Tuesday night and have officially relinquished the AL Central lead for the first time since late April. The Cleveland Guardians, who own the tiebreaker over Detroit, are now in the division lead as the two teams hold an 85-72 record.

But the Tigers once again shot themselves in the foot when they managed to take an early lead in this one. Wenceel Perez's RBI double and Riley Greene's solo home run put the Tigers up 2-0 as Skubal cruised through five scoreless innings. Unfortunately, Detroit squandered a number of other opportunities, going 0-for-5 in their other chances with runners in scoring position.

The Tigers then completely unraveled in the bottom of the sixth. Steven Kwan led off the inning and reached on a bunt single. Angel Martinez followed with a bunt of his own that Skubal tracked down, but the Tigers ace made an ill-fated decision to try and flick the ball through his legs to first baseman Spencer Torkelson. The long snap went over Tork's head and into foul territory, allowing Martinez to reach second and Kwan to reach third.

After that, a Jose Ramirez swinging bunt brought in the Guardians' first run of the game to apply further pressure.

Heinous Tarik Skubal error, scary David Fry moment sum up latest Tigers meltdown

And then came one of the scariest moments of the 2025 season. With runners on first and third, David Fry came to the plate and attempted another Guardians bunt. Skubal's 99 MPH fastball ricocheted off Fry's bat and directly into his face, as he fell to a heap in the batter's box.

Skubal was immediately taken aback and shaken up as the Guardians' medical staff attended to Fry, who was carted off the field after a short delay. Once play resumed, Skubal delivered a wild pitch that let another run score to tie the game.

An RBI groundout from Gabriel Arias gave the Guardians the lead, and that was that. They tacked on two more runs off Tommy Kahnle and Kyle Finnegan to secure a 5-2 victory, officially putting the Tigers in the danger zone of completing the worst division collapse in baseball history.

All Tigers fans can do is hope for better days. But that was their best shot to stop the bleeding. The rest is up to fate.