Skubal was hit by a grand slam as Detroit’s surprising run ended with a loss to the Guards in the ALDS

CLEVELAND (AP) – Tarik Skubal’s regular season was unforgettable, filled with dominant performances, goals and wins.

His postseason run will be remembered for one inning.

And a field

With Detroit’s season on the line, the left-hander gave up a grand slam to Lane Thomas as Cleveland tagged Skubal for five runs in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Tigers in Game 5 of the Series Division of the AL.

For Skubal and the Tigers, who put together an amazing two-month sprint to make the postseason before sweeping Houston in the wild-card round, the end was bittersweet.

“Obviously, it’s not the result you want, but I’m very proud of this team,” said Skubal, who felt the Tigers should have given more. “It’s amazing what we did. We should be very proud.”

For months, Skubal, 27, was the only positive about the Tigers, who were out of contention and on their way to another third- or fourth-place finish in the AL Central before going 35-16 after August 10.

Skubal led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts, the pitching triple crown that will likely follow with the AL Cy Young Award.

I’d be happy to trade him for another chance to take the mound in October.

After blanking the Guardians for four innings to extend his postseason scoreless streak to 17 innings, Skubal gave up a single to Andrés Giménez in the fifth. He struck out Brayan Rocchio before Steven Kwan, who hit .524 (11-for-21) in the series, singled.

David Fry, whose Game 4 homer helped the Guardians even the series, followed with an infield single to load the bases.

Skubal’s scoreless streak ended when he struck out Jose Ramirez in the left hand, forcing in Cleveland’s first run.

The next four came quickly as Thomas spun Skubal’s first pitch, a 96.9 whine that took too much of the plate. Cleveland’s center fielder sent it over the wall in left-center for his second homer of the series.

“What a swing,” Skubal said. “The moment was the moment. I’d love to get it back, but early in the game they had the bases loaded and didn’t score. At the moment you are thinking of running the launch and I didn’t.

“I thought my stuff was good all day, even in the fifth.”

Thomas, who grounded out and struck out in his first two at-bats, was excited just to make contact with Skubal.

“With the success this guy has had this year, you have to respect the fastball at all times,” he said. “Finally he threw me one over the plate. He was telling our hitting coach, ‘Man, I’ve never seen anybody throw that hard and locate me that well.’

“You just kind of tip your cap. He threw one over the plate … and I was able to take a good swing at it.”

When he came out after six innings, Skubal was met with hugs and handshakes from all the Tigers.

Manager AJ Hinch wasn’t about to blame his left-hander and made sure his pitcher understood that.

“Obviously, he gave everything he could and more,” Hinch said. “It wasn’t his fault today. He was in complete control of the game, and we would have liked to have put some runs in there to give him a bit of breathing room, and it was a big blow.

“That one is going to eat at him all offseason because of what was at stake. But give me that guy again in a playoff series, in a playoff-deciding game, and I hope to put his name in the starting lineup as a pitcher.”

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