The Detroit Tigers wasted no time shaking off their late-season slump, clinching a spot in the American League Division Series with a gritty 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the wild-card round on Thursday night. It was a tense affair at Progressive Field, where Detroit's bats finally heated up in the seventh inning, piling on four runs to seal the deal and send the Guardians packing. For a team that coughed up a massive division lead just weeks ago, this comeback feels like a quiet defiance—though questions linger about whether it's sustainable against stiffer competition.
Now, the Tigers head west to face the Seattle Mariners, the No. 2 seed in the AL who earned a bye with a solid 90-72 regular season. Seattle's T-Mobile Park will host the first two games of this best-of-five series, putting the pressure on Detroit's road-weary squad right out of the gate. Indeed, the schedule kicks off Saturday with Game 1 at either 1:08 p.m. PT or 5:38 p.m. PT, depending on the other bracket's timing—broadcast on FOX or FS1. Game 2 follows Sunday at 5:03 p.m. PT, again from Seattle.
Should the series extend—and given the Mariners' pitching depth led by aces like Luis Castillo, it just might—Game 3 shifts to Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, October 7, at 5:08 p.m. ET. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, would follow there on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Key matchup to watch: Tigers' Tarik Skubal, who dominated in the wild-card opener with 14 strikeouts, versus Seattle's Bryan Woo, who's looking sharp post-injury. Detroit's momentum from that wild-card win, sparked by Dillon Dingler's homer and Wenceel Pérez's clutch single, could be their edge, but Seattle's home crowd and bullpen might grind them down quickly.
However, the Tigers' resilience can't be ignored; they turned a potential early exit into a statement. Moreover, with playoff tickets already flying off the shelves in Detroit for potential home games, the energy is palpable. This ALDS isn't just about revenge for September's collapse—it's a test of whether Detroit can rewrite their narrative on baseball's biggest stage.
As the first pitch approaches, one can't help but ponder if this Tigers team has the grit to go deeper than anyone expected.