CLEVELAND — After 2 1/2 weeks of torment, a historic collapse and the brink of elimination, the Tigers found their way past the Guardians at the perfect time, with the help of a former Ohio hero and a longtime Ohio nemesis. Dillon Dinglerâ€s go-ahead home run in the sixth inning and Javier Báezâ€s leadoff double to ignite a four-run seventh led the Tigers out of their house of horrors with a 6-3 win on Thursday in Game 3 of their AL Wild Card Series at Progressive Field.
The victory sent the Tigers on their way to Seattle with a berth in the Division Series, where they seemed to be headed for most of the summer. Clevelandâ€s late-season surge and Detroitâ€s September struggles, including five losses to the Guardians over the final two weeks of the regular season, sent the Tigers on a roundabout path, knocked out of the AL Central title and into the ALâ€s final Wild Card slot – bringing them back to Cleveland, where they won Game 1 but couldnâ€t convert opportunities to take Game 2.
For five innings Thursday, the win-or-go-home game seemed poised for another round of Guardians magic. While Jack Flaherty delivered his best outing in weeks, tossing 4 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball, Detroit missed chances to add on to Kerry Carpenterâ€s third-inning RBI double in what quickly became a bullpen game for Cleveland.
Guardians lefty Joey Cantillo was an out away from sending a 1-1 game into the seventh when Dingler, a former three-sport high school star down the road in Massillon and a standout catcher/center fielder at Ohio State, made Cantillo pay for feeding him back-to-back changeups. The resulting drive cleared the high wall in left field for Dinglerâ€s first postseason homer and first of any kind at Progressive Field in front of family and friends, many of whom were once Cleveland fans.
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