There’s no nice way to say how things are going for the Tigers in the final week of the season.
It’s bad. Things are going badly.
The Guardians are now tied with the Tigers for first place in the AL Central,
and with two games left to go that will directly impact those standings, it really is do-or-die for the Tigers. And if Tuesday’s game is any indication, they might be picking the latter option.
We hope to be proven wrong and see some real fight from the Tigers over the remaining games with week, but their trip to October no longer feels as certain as it did just two months ago, almost an exact reversal of how things were through August and September of last year.
Anyway, let’s just get into the links for the day.
Detroit Tigers News
- FanGraphs broke down the tightest races in the final week of play, and they had this to say about the AL Central race:
As recently as September 3, the Tigers were 81-60, 10 games ahead of the Guardians (69-69 at the time). Since then, the Tigers have gone 4-11, while the Guardians have gone 15-3, trimming Detroit’s division lead to a single game. The two teams face off for a three-game series in Cleveland starting tonight, with the Guardians — who are 6-4 against the Tigers thus far — needing just one win to clinch the season series. As noted, the Tigers play the Red Sox during the season’s final weekend, while the Guardians host the Rangers (79-77), who are on the brink of official elimination from contention after losing seven straight. The odds still give the Tigers a 63.3% chance of winning the division, but at this point, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Guardians were to sneak in there.
- Kiri Oler of FanGraphs also focused specifically on the Tigers/Guardians showdown.
- David Laurila looks back at where Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and Will Vest were in 2020.
AL Central News
- In case you managed to miss Tuesday’s game, the Guardians are now tied for first in the AL Central…
- For those who missed the game, here’s the scary moment where David Fry took a ball to the face.
MLB News
- Some of the biggest news of the week is actually about what will be happening in 2026, as MLB announced it would bring robo umpires and the ABS system to the majors. With that in mind here’s a great breakdown of what to expect from the new system.
- A look at how everything went wrong for the A’s in Sacramento.
- Some familiar faces on the MVP leaderboards.
