DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are heading to Cleveland for the second round of the playoffs after sweeping the Houston Astros.
The end of the regular season couldn’t cool off baseball’s best team since mid-August. After ripping off 31 wins in 42 games to clinch a playoff spot, the Tigers went into Houston and continued exactly what they’ve been doing for eight weeks.
Tarik Skubal took care of Game 1, and then the offense came up huge in the eighth inning after the Astros took their first lead of the week in the bottom of the seventh.
Andy Ibanez came through with the big hit -- a two-out, two-strike, three-run double off closer Josh Hader. It seems like a different Tiger plays hero every night, and it was Ibanez’s turn in the biggest moment of the year.
Second-round matchup with Cleveland
Now the Tigers head to Cleveland, where the Guardians have been awaiting the winner of the wild card round.
Cleveland finished with the second-best record in the American League and 6.5 games ahead of both the Tigers and Royals to win the Central.
Detroit and Cleveland met 13 times this season, with the Guardians taking the season series 7-6.
The Tigers lost a hard-fought series in Cleveland in May and then took three of four at home right before the All-Star break. They split four games in Cleveland in mid-July, and then the Tigers got swept in a two-game set on July 29-30.
So the Guardians haven’t really seen this version of the Tigers, who didn’t get hot until Aug. 11.
Despite losing ace starter Shane Bieber early in the season, Cleveland has one of the top pitching staffs in the league. It’s led by four incredible late-inning relievers: Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, and Cade Smith.
That group creates a fascinating matchup with a Tigers offense that has a knack for coming through with key hits late in games.
On offense, Tigers fans need no introduction to Jose Ramirez, who’s been a thorn in their side for years and years. Ramirez is having another brilliant season, hitting 39 homers and stealing 41 bags with an .872 OPS.
Steven Kwan is always a tough out at the top of the lineup. He walked more times than he struck out this season and even hit 14 home runs.
It’s not a star-studded lineup, but the Guardians put together quality at-bats. Josh Naylor is a dangerous power threat and Andres Gimenez is one of the league’s top base runners.
Other than Skubal, Riley Greene, Ramirez, and Clase, there isn’t much star power in this series. But these are two of the most complete teams in baseball, and it’s been a long time since they met with so much on the line.
Here’s a look at the ALDS schedule:
- Game 1: 1:08 p.m. Saturday in Cleveland.
- Game 2: 4:08 p.m. Monday in Cleveland.
- Game 3: Wednesday in Detroit (time not yet announced).
- Game 4: Thursday in Detroit (time not yet announced).
- Game 5: Saturday in Cleveland (time not yet announced).
American League Championship Series
If the Tigers win the divisional series, they’ll advance to the championship series against either the New York Yankees or Kansas City Royals.
The Royals swept the Baltimore Orioles in the wild card round to give the Central a third team in ALDS.
Either way, the Tigers wouldn’t have home field advantage. The Yankees have the No. 1 seed, and the Royals got the No. 5 seed over Detroit because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
National League
The San Diego Padres took care of the Atlanta Braves in two games to set up an exciting matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The only wild card matchup to go three games is the Mets-Brewers series. Whoever wins will play the Phillies.
