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CLEVELAND — It wasnâ€t the “Guards Ball” weâ€ve grown accustomed to watching and marveling at, but maybe thatâ€s for the best.

On the brink of elimination against the Detroit Tigers in the AL wild-card series, the Cleveland Guardians†offense exploded for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday in Game 2, supplying all the scoring required for a 6-1 victory to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday.

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All season, the Guardians have struggled in nearly every facet of production at the plate. Getting on base consistently has been a chore. Crooked numbers have been rare. Slugging has been a tall task. Instead, Cleveland leaned heavily on its standout pitching staff to fuel an unlikely surge up the standings and into the postseason. Its run production was timely but rarely bountiful. The Guardians found ways to manufacture just enough scoring to secure close victories, but it was fair to wonder whether such a style could survive once the October tournament began.

And while Tarik Skubalâ€s outright domination of Cleveland in Game 1 was more reflective of his brilliance than the Guardians†offensive ineptitude, it pushed the Guardians into a win-or-go-home scenario, with time running out for their bats to show up on the big stage. After all, you can get by on conveniently placed soft contact and aggressive baserunning for only so long. At some point, you need to hit some baseballs with authority and drive in runs the old-fashioned way.

In the bottom of the first inning Wednesday, rookie outfielder George Valera provided the first hint that Cleveland was ready to break through in this regard. The 24-year-old rookie with one of the sweetest left-handed swings youâ€ll ever see smashed a fastball from Tigers starter Casey Mize well beyond the center-field fence for a solo homer and a 1-0 Guardians lead.

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But after Valeraâ€s opening blast raised the volume at Progressive Field tenfold, the Cleveland bats reverted into hibernation. Mize settled in before turning the ball over to Detroit relievers Tyler Holton and Kyle Finnegan, who continued to keep Cleveland in check. The Tigers, meanwhile, werenâ€t faring any better in the batterâ€s box. While Cleveland was barely mustering baserunners, Detroit created several chances, only to squander them, with Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee plus a brilliant showing from the bullpen stifling the Tigers over and over. The Tigers ultimately finished the day 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position, and the one such hit they did collect — a Javier Baez two-out single with the bases loaded in the fourth — preceded an inning-ending out when Zach McKinstry was thrown out at third.

So with the wind blowing in and the shadows creeping into place over Progressive Field to make the hitters†jobs on both sides even more daunting, the 1-1 stalemate looked to be the status quo for the foreseeable future, with extra innings beckoning.

Enter Brayan Rocchio — or, as heâ€s known this time of year in Cleveland, “Playoff Rocchio.â€

[Get more Cleveland news: Guardians team feed]

Itâ€s a moniker the switch-hitting infielder earned a year ago, when he recorded hits in his first eight postseason games, elevating his offensive performance after a regular season in which his .206 batting average and 79 wRC+ both ranked in the bottom 10 in MLB among hitters with at least 400 plate appearances. The Guardians were optimistic entering 2025 that Rocchio could carry that October momentum into a more steady showing at the plate, but roughly the opposite occurred: Rocchio hit .165/.235/.198 over his first 35 games and was optioned to Triple-A on May 12.

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He resurfaced in early July and immediately looked more comfortable in his at-bats. The numbers were still fairly pedestrian on the surface, but the reset in the minors helped instill enough confidence for Rocchio to become a more reliable contributor at the bottom of the lineup, especially amidst Clevelandâ€s chase for a playoff spot. His signature moment came in the final game of the regular season, when he clobbered a walk-off home run against Texas to punctuate the Guardians†magical September run to an AL Central title. The blast also got fans excited about the possibility of Rocchio finding his groove as the calendar flipped to his favorite month.

Still, the substantial sample of lackluster production had Rocchio batting ninth on Wednesday. But with no other Guardians besides Valera managing to do much of anything with the bat, someone needed to step up to break the deadlock. And facing rookie right-hander Troy Melton with one out in the eighth inning, Playoff Rocchio struck again.

Melton started Rocchio off with a slider for a called strike one. Rocchio then fouled off a splitter to fall into an 0-2 hole. Melton reared back and unleashed a four-seam fastball at 99.9 mph. Rocchio was ready.

He connected cleanly, sending the ball on a picturesque trajectory toward the right-field seats. It landed three seconds later in a sea of red pandemonium. 2-1 Guardians.

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“It was huge,†manager Stephen Vogt said postgame. “An 0-2 count, and he was ready to fire.â€

“Funny enough, when the game started, I was thinking, with this wind, we have to put the ball on the ground, try to get ground balls,†Rocchio said afterward through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “When I get that mindset to get the ball on the ground is when I get better and better results.â€

Added outfielder Steven Kwan: “We were waiting for the big hit. Playoff Rocc came up and did his thing.â€

The Guardians werenâ€t finished. With the crowd of nearly 30,000 fans still audibly ecstatic at the possibility that the offseason had been extended at least one more day, Kwan followed Rocchioâ€s homer with a line-drive double into the right-field corner. Daniel Schneemann smoked Troy Meltonâ€s next pitch to the same spot to score Kwan, marking a third consecutive extra-base hit after Cleveland had produced zero in the first 16 innings of this series.

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Suddenly, hitting didnâ€t seem so hard.

After an intentional walk to José Ramírez and a pitching change, catcher Bo Naylor provided the exclamation point. Facing a tough southpaw in Brant Hurter, the lefty-hitting Naylor — who has historically scuffled to an extreme degree against same-handed hurlers — battled for seven pitches before lofting a sweeper over the right-field fence for a three-run homer, giving Cleveland a commanding 6-1 lead it would not relinquish.

“As our bullpen is keeping them off the board, we feel like we have a knack to do it late in the game,†Vogt said. “Whether we saw a five-run explosion coming or not, we felt like as our outs came off the board and their outs came off the board, we felt really good about it.

“Rocchio kind of broke the tension with the homer, and the boys let loose.â€

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Detroit made it a dramatic finish, loading the bases in the ninth against closer Cade Smith, but the Tigers once again failed to cash in — a fitting finale to a game filled with missed opportunities.

And if the nature of Detroitâ€s Game 2 loss with the ALDS within reach wasn’t frustrating enough, the Tigers now have to suppress the bad memories from a year ago, when they were seven outs away from eliminating Cleveland in the ALDS before they blew a late lead in Game 4 and lost soundly in Game 5. The Guardians, meanwhile, have recaptured that winning feeling that defined their past month of play, perhaps just in time.

On Thursday, the Guards will give the ball to Slade Cecconi for Game 3, while the Tigers will counter with veteran Jack Flaherty. It will be Cecconiâ€s first career postseason start and Flahertyâ€s 10th, setting up an intriguing contrast for two pitchers tasked with the high stakes of a winner-take-all affair.

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  Bradford DoolittleOct 1, 2025, 07:41 AM ET

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  • MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
  • Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
  • Been with ESPN since 2013

CLEVELAND — When it comes to winning in the MLB postseason, circa 2025, you hear a lot about high-octane bullpens and home run hitters. But when you have a throwback ace like Tarik Skubal on your side, starting pitching and a little small-ball can still get it done.

Skubal lifted the Detroit Tigers to 1-0 lead in their AL wild-card series against the Cleveland Guardians with perhaps the most dominant outing of a career that’s been full of them, tying a 53-year-old Detroit postseason record with 14 strikeouts and pitching into the eighth inning of a terse 2-1 win.

Joe Coleman set the Tigers’ postseason strikeout mark in the 1972 ALCS against Oakland.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Skubal said. “Winning is what matters to me. It’s mattered to me all year. I think winning is the most important thing in sports.”

The outing became more dominant the deeper Skubal worked into the game. According to ESPN Research, Skubal topped 100 miles per hour with a pitch 11 times, six more than he’s ever had in a start. He topped 100 five times alone in the seventh when he struck out the side, the last whiff coming on a game-high 101.2 miles-per-hour laser to get Brayan Rocchio.

If it looked like Skubal was emptying his tank, it’s because he was: Based on his usage during the season, Skubal figured that would be his last frame. But Detroit manager A.J. Hinch wanted three more batters from the AL’s reigning Cy Young winner — and the favorite to win it again.

“I thought my outing was coming to a close,” Skubal said. “But I was ready to go back out there. Never going to take myself out of a game.”

Among the 28 batters Skubal faced, only three managed to get the ball out of the infield. None of those three came in the fourth inning when Cleveland managed to scratch out a run against the blazing lefty. That tally came on two infield hits sandwiched around a walk, the second of those safeties a chopper off the plate that scored hustling Angel Martinez all the way from second.

Cleveland starter Gavin Williams struck out eight over his six-plus innings, and both runs he allowed were unearned, two errors you can’t make against an ace like Skubal when he’s on. These tight games are part-and-parcel of the Tigers-Guardians rivalry.

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“What an unbelievably pitched game we got to watch,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Tarik Skubal was outstanding, punched out 14. Couldn’t get anything off of him. Gavin similarly.”

Game 1, played under a cloudless sky on an unusually warm early autumn day in downtown Cleveland, was something straight out of 1976. Both starters worked deep into the game. All three runs came via the small-ball route, and no ball left the yard.

The Tigers scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt by Zack McKinstry that plated Riley Green. Detroit — which laid down just five sacrifice bunts during the regular season — had two of them in Game 1.

“Anyone new to the Tigers-Guardians, this is what they look like,” Hinch said. “Like, every game. And obviously, Tarik set an incredible tone for us.”

It was indeed a throwback game dominated by a throwback starting pitcher in Skubal, who would look like an ace in any era of the big leagues.

“He’s a beast,” Hinch said. “And it’s why he’s considered by many as the best pitcher in the big leagues.”

The Guardians will try to keep their season alive in Wednesday’s Game 2, when Detroit’s Casey Mize will face Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee. The winner of the series will advance to the ALDS to face the Seattle Mariners.

Cleveland, which overcame a 15½-game deficit to overcome Detroit in the AL Central race, has, in a sense, been playing elimination-type games for some time.

“Our backs have been against the wall for three months,” Vogt said. “What’s one more day?”

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CLEVELAND — The Tigers and Guardians just endured six pressure-packed head-to-head meetings over the last week to decide the AL Central and now, one year after their epic five-game battle in the American League Division Series, the two clubs will face each other yet again — this time, in the Wild Card round.

The first of three potential Wild Card games, all at Progressive Field, is set for 1:08 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Itâ€s a matchup that appeared unlikely for extended portions of the 2025 regular season, if not unfathomable.

The Tigers once carried a 15 1/2-game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central, as recently as the morning of July 9, and it was as high as 11 games on Sept. 4. But Cleveland went 20-7 in September as Detroit went 7-17 to pull off a historic comeback. The Guardians clinched on Sunday, when the Tigers fell, 4-3, to the Red Sox.

Clevelandâ€s 15 1/2-game deficit is the largest a team has overcome to win a division (since 1969) or league (pre-1969). The 11-game deficit is the largest a team overcame in September to reach the postseason. The Guardians went 5-1 against the Tigers in September to help pull it off, which included a sweep at Comerica Park two weeks ago and a series win last week.

“I feel like when we were playing them last time,†catcher Austin Hedges said, “it was like, ‘We’re probably going to see you guys again in the playoffs. It’s just how it’s all going to work out.†What a beautiful thing. The world now gets to watch us play each other again in the playoffs, and it’s just going to make for some great baseball.â€

These two clubs know each other well. There shouldnâ€t be many, if any, surprises from either side, but familiarity will only go so far. The series will come down to who executes best on the field, and who is more prepared. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch hinted on Sunday that his club’s prep work would include a deep dive into the games theyâ€ve played recently to see if any trends emerged that they might have missed, particularly for their own hitters against Guardians pitchers.

“We’ll make sure our guys don’t take for granted that we know them well,†Hinch said. “The biggest concern when you play a division opponent is familiarity can be a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it, from being a little bit too comfortable. So we’re going to have to turn over every rock to make sure we’re prepared.â€

And Cleveland knows that any past success is by no means an indicator of the future.

“They’re a good team,†left fielder Steven Kwan said. “Weâ€ve gotten them these last couple times, and to see them again, I’m just hoping that everybody’s not kind of assuming it’s going to be the same as the last two series.

“They’re going to come out, they’re going to do their homework. … Theyâ€re a formidable opponent.â€

When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 1 is Tuesday, and first pitch is scheduled for 1:08 p.m. ET on ESPN.

All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games also are available live internationally, although not in Canada.

Who are the starting pitchers?

Tigers: Tarik Skubal (13-6, 2.21 ERA in 31 starts) gets the ball against the team he faced in his last two regular-season starts. He struck out 17 batters over 12 innings with just two earned runs allowed, but took a no-decision and a loss. His final inning in last Tuesdayâ€s defeat featured uncharacteristic self-inflicted mistakes leading to two unearned runs, including an errant between-the-legs throw to first base on a bunt, a wild pitch that scored a run, and a balk — just the second of his career — setting up another.

Skubal faced the Guardians twice in Cleveland during last yearâ€s Division Series. His seven scoreless innings in Game 2 set up Detroit for a win on the road. His outing in Game 5 turned when Lane Thomas hit him for a grand slam in the fifth inning.

Guardians: Gavin Williams (12-5, 3.06 ERA in 31 starts) will take the ball for Cleveland. The big right-hander emerged as Clevelandâ€s rotation anchor over the second half of the season, after a bumpy first half in which he led the Majors with 57 walks over 19 starts. Williams led Guardians starters with a 2.18 ERA after the All-Star break while he recorded 78 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings over 12 starts.

Williams†final two regular-season starts were against the Tigers. He allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks with 21 strikeouts over 11 innings to record the win in each outing.

What might the starting lineups look like?

Tigers: The lineup against right-handed pitchers has largely settled down, but Hinch might have to weigh anything he can switch up after the Tigers struggled against Williams and Tanner Bibee last week at Progressive Field and the week before that at Comerica Park. Any changes would likely be small; thereâ€s only so much Detroit can do with its roster, and any change has an impact on the late-inning matchups against Clevelandâ€s versatile bullpen.

Guardians: Like the Tigers, the Guardians embrace playing matchups as much as they can, and Clevelandâ€s lineup figures to include as many right-handed hitters as possible against Skubal. The Guardians did suffer a big loss to its right-handed-hitting mix; David Fry likely will be out for the entire postseason after he suffered multiple facial and nasal fractures when hit in the face with a Skubal pitch last Tuesday. Johnathan Rodríguez (who was promoted from Triple-A Columbus after Fry went on the injured list) has gone 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in a two-game sample and could earn a start.

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Tigers: What had been a dominant bullpen for much of the summer struggled down the stretch, shrinking Hinchâ€s circle of trust among his relief corps. Hinch never formally named a closer this season, but Will Vest has been the guy for much of the year, with Kyle Finnegan lined up for the middle of the order leading into the ninth. Tyler Holton has regained his versatile nastiness down the stretch, while Tommy Kahnle has struggled with command after looking very good over the first half of the season. Expect to see rookie Troy Melton used as a multi-inning guy after he tossed 3 2/3 solid innings in a start in Cleveland last Thursday.

Hinch carried three left-handers in the bullpen when the teams met at Comerica Park two weeks ago, but didnâ€t have that option in Cleveland after optioning Bailey Horn to Triple-A Toledo. Heâ€s eligible to return, as is Drew Sommers, so itâ€ll be interesting to see if Hinch goes for that.

Guardians: The Guardians did not officially name a closer after Emmanuel Clase went on non-disciplinary paid leave on July 28 due to an MLB investigation. However, Cade Smith has almost always been the man on the mound when there is a save opportunity. Working backwards, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski have been manager Stephen Vogtâ€s setup men, and Matt Festa is the “fireman,†who often comes in to clean up any messes in the middle innings. Jakob Junis (2.49 ERA in 16 appearances since Aug. 1) has also been a steady presence in the middle-to-late innings.

Tigers: Third baseman Colt Keith (right rib cage inflammation) and outfielder Matt Vierling (left oblique strain) are doing rehab work but are unlikely to be ready for the series. Right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long (neck stiffness) is facing live hitters and could be a bullpen option if they need one.

Guardians: Fry is expected to be sidelined for 6-8 weeks due to his injury. Nolan Jones†availability for the postseason is in question due to a right oblique strain. Thomas (a Guardians postseason hero when these teams squared off in 2024) had season-ending right foot surgery for plantar fasciitis this month. Reliever Nic Enright will not return this season due to a right forearm injury that is being assessed.

Who is hot and who is not?

Tigers: Javier Báez batted 8-for-25 (.320) against Cleveland in the regular season and recorded five RBIs over the final four games overall in the regular season, including a three-run home run Sunday in Boston. Torkelson went 12-for-49 (.245) with 20 strikeouts against the Guardians, but three hits were homers.

Guardians: Ramírez slashed .287/.374/.515 with four homers and 17 RBIs in September. He also went 17-for-49 (.347) with a 1.030 OPS in 13 games against the Tigers this season. Similarly, Kwan went 16-for-52 (.308) in 12 games against Detroit. The Guardians will need both of them performing if they are to advance.

Anything else fans might want to know?
This is only the second time the Guardians and Tigers have met in the postseason, joining last seasonâ€s ALDS. The Tigers recorded a sweep at Progressive Field from July 4-6, as part of the Guardians†10-game losing streak. Cleveland is only the fourth team to make the playoffs in the same season it had a 10-game skid, joining the 2017 Dodgers, 1982 Braves and 1951 New York Giants.

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BOSTON — The manually operated out-of-town scoreboard got a workout on Sunday at Fenway Park, with crew members scrambling to update 14 games going on simultaneously. The Tigers could peek to their left from the third-base dugout and check how results elsewhere affected their potential postseason scenarios.

After entering the regular-season finale with four potential scenarios, the Tigers are heading back to Cleveland for their American League Wild Card Series starting on Tuesday. Of course theyâ€re heading back to Cleveland.

Riley Greene didnâ€t need to look at the scoreboard. As he told reporters after Sundayâ€s 4-3 loss to the Red Sox, it was as if the “writers in the sky†penned the script.

“We’ve played Cleveland 50 times in the past four days,†Greene said. “We know them. They know us. Itâ€s going to be fun.â€

Greene is only slightly exaggerating. If the series goes the distance, the Tigers and Guardians will have played nine games against each other in a 17-day span, a rarity even back when schedules were more unbalanced towards division rivalries.

Those matchups helped flip the AL Central race. Sunday finished it. The Tigers†loss, coupled with the Guardians†walk-off victory over the Rangers, secured the title outright for Cleveland.

Detroit became the first team in Major League history to hold a double-digit division lead and not hold on for the title. The Tigers will begin the postseason with a chance to knock out the team that surpassed them.

“Obviously, we know what kind of team they have,†catcher Dillon Dingler said. “We’ve played them six times in the past two weeks. We’re going to have a good game plan going in. The biggest thing is it’s a clean slate now, so we’re not going to worry about anything that’s happened. We’re going to move forward and we’re going to have a lot of fun.â€

Itâ€s not only a rematch of the past two weeks, itâ€s a rematch of last yearâ€s AL Division Series, a dramatic five-game battle that turned on Lane Thomas†grand slam off Tarik Skubal in Game 5. The Tigers will send Skubal to the mound on Tuesday in Game 1. Itâ€ll be his third consecutive start against the Guardians; he struck out 17 batters over 12 innings with two earned runs allowed in his previous two starts combined, but the Tigers lost both contests.

Thereâ€s very little these teams can do to surprise each other at this point, so it likely comes down to which executes its game plan best.

“We’ll make sure our guys don’t take for granted that we know them well,†manager A.J. Hinch said. “The biggest concern when you play a division opponent is familiarity can be a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it, from being a little bit too comfortable. So we’re going to have to turn over every rock to make sure we’re prepared.â€

Said Dingler: “I think we’re just going to go and do what we’ve been doing the entire season. I don’t think we’re going to look into it all that much. We obviously always lean on our pitchers’ strengths more than anything, but we’ll have a good game plan.â€

In many ways, Hinch seemed prepared for the matchup. A day after the Tigers clinched a postseason berth by beating the Red Sox, he gave a rare day off to Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres and Dingler. With Skubal pushed back to the postseason opener, Hinch turned to Chris Paddack for his first start since Aug. 29, followed by Paul Sewald and Tanner Rainey.

The skipper whoâ€s known for playing in-game matchups to get favorable at-bats stuck with his lineup. Jahmai Jones, Saturdayâ€s hero, was the only pinch-hitter available off the bench, Hinch said, and he left Jones on the bench when the Red Sox brought in lefty reliever Steven Matz to face Zach McKinstry with the potential tying run on third base in the seventh.

“Going back and forth on that, really from last night to today,†Hinch said. “There’s so many downstream effects that come with that, with the guys that have been going at it. We’ve got guys going through things. We’ve got guys that really did deserve a day off. What you saw was what we had.â€

The Guardians†win made it moot.

“Obviously, we wanted to win today to get the division,†Dingler said, “but at the end of the day, we are playing in the postseason. We just have to look forward now.â€

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Alexey Vlasov scored in the third round of the shootout to lift the visiting Victoriaville Tigres to a 5-4 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League action on Sunday.

Alexis Bourque scored twice for the Tigres, including a goal at 19:49 of the third period that forced overtime. Egor Shilov and Vlasov also scored in regulation for the visitors. Vlasov also chipped in with two assists.

David Bosson, Hugo Dufour, William Dumont and Jesse Allecia scored in regulation for the Voltigeurs, who trailed 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 heading into the third.

The Voltigeurs outshot the Tigres 37-28 and went 1-for-5 on the power play. The Tigres were 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

Elsewhere in the QMJHL on Sunday:

VAL-D’OR, Que. — Nathan Brisson scored twice and added two assists as the Val-d’Or Foreurs defeated the visiting Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5-3.

Alix Durocher scored twice and added an assist for the Foreurs, while Samuel Fiala scored once.

Eliot Ogonowski scored twice for the Huskies, while Thomas Verdon netted a single. Lars Steiner chipped in with three assists.

The Foreurs outshot the visitors 38-30.

SAGUENÉENS 3, OCEANIC 1

RIMOUSKI, Que. — Emile Guite, Emmanuel Vermette and Maxim Massé each scored a goal as the visiting Chicoutimi Saguenéens defeated Rimouski Océanic 3-1.

Oliver Czaja scored for the Oceanic, who were tied 1-1 after the first period, but trailed 2-1 heading into the third.

The Oceanic outshot the Sagueneens 40-20.

ST. JOHN’S, Nfld. — Ross Campbell had a goal and an assist and Matthew Butler had two assists as the visiting Charlottetown Islanders defeated the Newfoundland Regiment 4-1.

Tyler Peddle, William Shields and Nathan Leek also scored for the Islanders.

Islanders netminder Donald Hickey stopped 21 of 22 shots.

Emile Perron scored for the Regiment, who trailed 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 heading into the third.

Regiment goaltender Mikus Vecvanags stopped 20 of 23 shots.

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Sep 27, 2025, 07:06 PM ET

BOSTON — Jahmai Jones hit a two-run single in the fifth inning, and the Detroit Tigers hung on to defeat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Saturday, clinching a spot in the American League playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Less than 24 hours after the Red Sox sealed their postseason berth, the Tigers claimed at least a wild card spot and pushed the Houston Astros closer to elimination. Detroit still could win the AL Central title but would need help from Texas, which played Cleveland on Saturday night.

Keider Montero and four relievers held Boston to one run and seven hits. Tyler Holton (6-5) got four outs for the victory. Will Vest pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

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“Kind of a crazy ride, but it’s well worth it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told his team in the clubhouse Saturday night during the celebration. “We went up, we went down, we went up again.”

The Tigers (87-74) led the division by as many as 14 games in July and still held a 9½-game lead on Sept. 11 before losses in 12 out of 14 games dropped them into a tie with Cleveland (86-74). The Guardians, who were in fourth place and 15½ games back on July 7, are 17-4 since Sept. 5 and hold the tiebreaker against Detroit.

Detroit has ace Tarik Skubal (13-6) lined up to pitch in Sunday’s regular-season finale, but the Tigers would love to save him for the postseason opener.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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BOSTON — Ceddanne Rafaela tripled off the centre field wall to drive in the game-ending run in the ninth inning on Friday night, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers and clinching Bostonâ€s first post-season berth since 2021.

Boston rallied from a 3-0 deficit to move two games ahead of the Tigers and 2 1/2 ahead of Houston in the race for the last two American League wild-card berths, with two games left to play. Detroit, which has lost 12 of its last 14 games, can still reach the playoffs and even win the AL Central with help from Cleveland.

Boston tied the game in the eighth inning and then Romy Gonzalez singled to centre with one out in the ninth. Rafaela, who missed clearing the Green Monster in the seventh by about a foot, sent a 1-0 pitch off the wall in centre.

Gonzalez, who held up to make sure it wasn’t caught, raced around to score as his teammates streamed out of the dugout and nearly beat him to the plate.

Masataka Yoshida had three hits for Boston. Closer Aroldis Chapman (5-3) pitched the ninth for the win. Tommy Kahnle (1-5) got just one out in the bottom of the ninth.

The Red Sox missed a pair of two-run homers by about two feet: Nathaniel Lowe hit a line drive off the Green Monster in the second inning, just missing the top of the wall. Rafaela also settled for a double with his liner off the top of the 37-foot wall in the seventh.

It was Boston’s major league-leading 12th walk-off win of the season. That’s tied for the second most in franchise history. The Red Sox won on their last at-bat 13 times in 1940.

LHP Connelly Early (1-1) will start for Boston on Saturday. The Tigers had not named a starter.

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Sep 25, 2025, 09:58 PM ET

CLEVELAND — Jahmai Jones led off the game with a home run, and the Detroit Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak, beating Cleveland Guardians 4-2 on Thursday night to move back into a tie with the Guardians atop the American League Central.

Detroit and Cleveland are 86-73 with three games left to play. The Guardians hold the tiebreaker after going 8-5 in the season series.

The Tigers head to Boston, where the Boston Red Sox have a one-game lead for the AL’s second wild card. The Guardians will host Texas Rangers, which has lost nine of 10. Meanwhile, both Detroit and Cleveland are one game ahead of the Houston Astros for the final AL wild-card spot.

Detroit snapped an eight-game losing streak, beating Cleveland to move back into a tie with the Guardians atop the American League Central with three games left to play in the regular season. David Richard-Imagn Images

Jones drove a sinker from Cleveland starter Parker Messick (3-1) on a full count 400 feet over the wall in left for his third career leadoff home run.

Wenceel Perez and Riley Greene also homered off Messick.

Brant Hurter (4-3) got the win, and Will Vest picked up his 22nd save in 29 opportunities.

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Troy Melton allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings in what was a bullpen game for the Tigers.

C.J. Kayfus and Jose Ramirez had RBI doubles for the Guardians, who are 18-6 in September.

Ramírez’s double was his 726th extra-base hit, passing Earl Averill (725) for the most in franchise history. Ramírez has 398 doubles, 43 triples and 285 home runs in his 13-year career.

Messick allowed four runs in five innings, snapping a 19-game streak where Cleveland’s starting rotation had allowed two or fewer runs in 19 consecutive games, which matched the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays and 1916 New York Giants for the second-longest streak since the mound was moved.

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The marathon is nearing its finish for the MLB regular season with four games left for the majority of the majors. And other than the tight grips the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies have on the National League, there’s plenty up for grabs.

Here are the top storylines entering Thursday in a chaotic finish for the MLB playoffs:

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There’s a chance the Yankees get the No. 1 seed

We are indeed in strange times when the New York Yankees can give a hearty “thank you” to their nemesis Boston Red Sox.

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Aaron Judge hit home runs No. 50 and 51 as the Yankees took care of business in the Bronx on Wednesday night in blowing out the Chicago White Sox, 8-1. The Yankees’ 90th victory of the season pulled them into a tie for the AL East lead with the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost their second straight game to the Red Sox at home.

Toronto holds the tiebreaker with New York and its next four games — one vs. Boston and three against Tampa Bay — are at home. So the Yankees will need some more Jays missteps to get out of the wild-card spot, but it’s certainly possible.

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Manager Aaron Boone could get a moment to exhale, even if it’ll last for only a couple of days before the ALDS starts.

Why not 62 for Cal?

Let’s hit pause for a moment on the Seattle Mariners’ incredible playoff push, which reached new heights Wednesday night when they clinched the AL West. Let’s gaze at Cal Raleigh’s historic season. He hit home run No. 60 on Wednesday night, which puts him two back from tying Aaron Judge’s single-season record in the American League.

So we should expect Raleigh to keep hacking away, especially with one more game left against the Colorado Rockies and a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers and their erratic bullpen.

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Guardians’ rocket rise could push Tigers completely out of playoff picture

On July 8, Detroit had the best record in baseball.

Entering play Thursday, the Tigers are looking at the grim prospect of playing their final game of the entire season this weekend. That’s how remarkable the Cleveland Guardians’ surge has been in taking control of the AL Central and how stunning Detroit’s collapse has been.

The Guardians went up a full game on the Tigers after winning 5-1 on Wednesday. They’ll go for a sweep Thursday. And even if the Tigers avoid the broom for their third straight series, the Guardians own the season tiebreaker.

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Cleveland has won 12 of its past 13 games while Detroit is 2-11 in its past 13 games and currently on an eight-game losing streak. On Sept. 4, the Tigers led the division by 11 games.

After Thursday’s series finale, Cleveland will host Texas for its final three games of the regular season. That means Detroit will need help regaining control of the division. If the Guardians take care of business, the Tigers better hope the Houston Astros keep tripping up. Detroit owns the tiebreaker if it comes down to that final wild-card spot with Houston.

Adding to Detroit’s woes: their final series of the regular season is at Fenway Park against the playoff-bound Red Sox, who are looking to make a move of their own in the wild-card standings.

Do the Mets, Reds and Diamondbacks want to make the playoffs?

With four games to go, three teams are vying for the final wild-card spot in the National League. The New York Mets currently hold that spot, but both the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks sit a game behind New York.

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With a possible trip to the playoffs on the line … every team faltered Wednesday. The Mets were blown out by the Chicago Cubs and both the Reds and D-Backs lost heartbreakers in extras.

All three teams are in action again Thursday. Of that group, the pressure is highest on the Mets, who need to finish with a better record than both the Reds and Diamondbacks to make the playoffs. Cincinnati and Arizona hold tiebreakers over New York for that final spot. The Mets can’t afford to end the season tied with either club.

The Reds sit on the other side of the pendulum. Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker over both New York and Arizona. The Reds only need to end the year tied with those teams to secure a playoff spot.

The only other team still in the playoff hunt in the NL are the Miami Marlins, but their path is nearly impossible at this point. The Marlins sit four games out but finish the season with a three-game series against the Mets. There’s a scenario where Miami could still earn the right tiebreakers to get in, but one misstep would get the team eliminated.

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Despite being fewer games out, both the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals have already been eliminated from the playoffs. They can’t win the appropriate tiebreakers to secure a spot, no matter how well both teams finish out the season.

What to watch Thursday

Pirates vs. Reds: 12:40 p.m. ET
Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks: 3:40 p.m. ET
Marlins vs. Phillies: 6:05 p.m. ET
Tigers vs. Guardians: 6:40 p.m. ET
White Sox vs. Yankees: 7:05 p.m. ET
Red Sox vs. Blue Jays: 7:07 p.m. ET
Mets vs. Cubs: 7:40 p.m. ET
Rockies vs. Mariners: 9:40 p.m. ET

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Image credit:
Kevin McGonigle (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)

While the Tigers are trying to avoid one of the biggest collapses in MLB history at the big league level, Detroit has had a historically successful season in the minor leagues.

The Tigers easily had the best winning percentage across the minor leagues this year, posting a .589 winning percentage that was the fifth-best of the past 20 years.

Detroitâ€s farm teams have won championships in Low-A (Lakeland, Florida State League) and High-A (West Michigan, Midwest), while Double-A Erie will play for the Eastern League title tonight.

The Tigers†+650 run differential was also the seventh-best of the past 20 years. The Giants finished second in winning percentage and the Pirates were third. The Giants were also second in run differential ahead of the third-place Yankees.

At the other end of the standings, the Orioles had a .432 winning percentage. Baltimore also narrowly edged the Padres and Phillies for the worst run differential in the minor leagues.

With five Double-A and Triple-A titles still to be decided, the Tigers are the only MLB organization with multiple MiLB titles. The Mariners (Northwest), Mets (South Atlantic), Giants (California), Guardians (Carolina), Blue Jays (FCL), Angels (ACL) and Padres (DSL) have each won one title.

Final MiLB Organizational Standings

OrgWLPCTRUN
DIFF.Tigers420293.589650Giants405314.563518Pirates396319.554237Rays395321.552308Mets391321.549341Yankees385325.542406Marlins375341.524157Brewers369345.517211Mariners345323.516159Rangers368349.513-7Guardians366348.513122Cardinals336321.511218Dodgers363356.50558Rockies360361.499-99Royals355361.496-144Twins325333.494-43White Sox328337.493-37Athletics328339.49274Red Sox344370.482-79D-backs348375.481-230Astros340369.480-76Blue Jays340371.478-38Reds339372.477-95Nationals303352.463-377Phillies326382.460-440Padres331389.460-445Angels303362.456-355Cubs326390.455-189Braves289364.443-347Orioles306402.432-458

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