Detroit's Cinderella run continues into the division series against an American League Central rival in what could be a pitching-heavy matchup.
The last time the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers squared off was over two months ago, when Detroit dropped both games of a two-game series shortly after the All-Star break. At that point, the Tigers’ record stood at 52–57, with their odds of making the postseason a meager 0.5%,
Now the two sides will meet again over two months later in a matchup that pits one team that’s been in first place every day since April 14, against another that didn’t seize control of a wild-card spot until the season’s final week. While most casual eyes will be affixed elsewhere for the divisional series—to watchTigers manager A.J. Hinch said during the wild-card series against the Houston Astros that Detroit’s pitching plan was Tarik Skubal and then “pitching chaos.
On the other side of the bullpen management spectrum is the Guardians’ more traditional ‘pen usage. The back end of Cleveland’s relief corps is as impressive as there is in baseball. Rookies Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis both posted sub-2.00 ERAs across a combined 150 innings this season, while All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase allowed five earned runs on the season and led the league in saves for the third straight year. All told, Cleveland relief pitchers posted a 2.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt will know what to do late in the game when Cleveland has the lead, and Hinch will mix and match as early and often as he feels he needs to. The Tigers will start Tarik Skubal in Game 2, which lines him up to pitch Game 5 if the series lasts that long. If it does, Detroit will feel plenty confident riding with the best pitcher in the league in a do-or-die game, meaning the Tigers would just need to win one non-Skubal game to gain a series advantage.
The bullpens for each club will obviously provide safety nets in case any starter falters, but if any of the less heralded starting pitchers are able to deliver a surprise quality outing, it could be the deciding factor that tips the scales from one side to the other.Nick Selbe is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about baseball and college sports.
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