CLEVELAND -- The Detroit Tigers have fallen out of first place for the first time since April 22.

Their unfathomable September slide reached another low on Tuesday in a 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in the opener of a critical series at Progressive Field.

The Tigers (85-72) have lost seven straight and 10 of their last 11. They now trail the Guardians (85-72) in the AL Central by virtue of having lost the season series and the tiebreaker.

Detroit has five games left in the season -- two more in Cleveland and three in Boston. If the season ended today, they would hold the sixth and final seed in the AL playoffs, setting up a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Guardians in Cleveland.

Tuesday’s game unraveled in a wild sixth inning in which Tigers ace Tarik Skubal committed

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