José Ramírez drove in a run with a swinging bunt when Cleveland rallied in a strange sixth inning against Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, and the Guardians beat the Tigers 5-2 on Tuesday night to move into a tie for first place in the AL Central.
Cleveland caught Detroit after being 15 1/2 games back on July 8. The Guardians, who were still 12 1/2 games behind the Tigers on Aug. 25, have won 11 of 12. They are 17-5 in September.
The Tigers have dropped seven straight and 10 of 11 as their giant lead has shrunk to zero.
Skubal (13-6), the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, fell apart in the sixth, becoming visibly shaken when Cleveland’s David Fry was struck in the face by his 99 mph fastball. He also had a throwing error, a wild pitch and a balk in the inning.
With two runners on, Fry squa