Guardians end Tarik Skubal's perfect game bid, but in scoreless tie through 6 innings

CLEVELAND — Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal flirted with perfection against the Guardians in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Monday at Progressive Field.

The presumptive AL Cy Young Award winner, Skubal lived up to every bit of the hype surrounding him as he threw a perfect game through 4⅓ innings.

The Guardians' Josh Naylor broke up the perfect game with a one-out double to center field field in the fifth inning. Skubal then hit rookie Jhonkensy Noel with a pitch, but Andres Gimenez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning in a scoreless tie.

In the sixth inning, the Guardians had runners at first and third base with one out after Brayan Rocchio doubled to left field and Steven Kwan singled to left field. But David Fry grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, and the inning ended in a scoreless tie.

In the regular season, Skubal went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings. His WHIP was 0.92. He also earned a win Oct. 1 in Detroit's 3-1 wild-card win over the Houston Astros, allowing no runs and four hits and striking out six in Game 1 of the wild card series.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians end Tarik Skubal's perfect game bid, but in scoreless tie through 6 innings