Cleveland Guardians know season is on the line against Detroit Tigers

Cleveland trails Detroit by one game in the AL Central. This series preview highlights the Guardians hitters and pitchers to watch for.

Sep 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges (27) and starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) celebrate a win over the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The 2025 Detroit Tigers, not unlike the 2024 Cleveland Guardians, got off to an earth-scorching start that nobody anticipated. The 2025 Cleveland Guardians, not unlike the 2024 Detroit Tigers, stumbled (fell down a well) out of the gate, sold pitching at the trade deadline, and worked their way back into playoff contention.

The 2024 Tigers went 17-8 in September, and the 2025 Guardians are outpacing them at 16-5. While the Tigers’ September surge was enough to reach the playoffs last season, the Guardians sit in uncertainty with a massive series against Detroit looming.

While Cleveland needs just one of three games at home to clinch the divisional tiebreaker, the Guardians need to take at least two of three games from the Tigers so the teams sit even in the standings entering their respective final series. 

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For the Guardians, the offense is reliant on Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is hitting .278 with 4 HR and 13 RBIs since the calendar flipped to September. One thing about Jose? He loves facing the Tigers. Ramirez is hitting .333 with 2 HR and 6 RBIs in ten games against Detroit this season.

The offensive story of September has been the breakout of Bo Naylor. Naylor is hitting .306 with 3 HR and 14 RBIs in September, practically outperforming Ramirez. Combined with Steven Kwan’s return to form and Kyle Manzardo’s consistent pop, Cleveland is slowly forming a top 5 worthy of October baseball. 

Game 1 of the series is a battle of the aces. Detroit throws defending Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal against Gavin Williams. Skubal has allowed just one run in 22 innings with 32 strikeouts against Cleveland this season. Woof.

While the task is tough, Cleveland forced a no-decision and eventual loss for the Tigers versus Skubal last week. The Guardians also tagged Skubal for a decisive Game 5 victory in the ALDS last season. Gavin Williams has been no slouch against the Tigers, as he has yet to allow a run in eleven innings of work against Detroit. Williams has struck out 17 batters in that span. Runs will come at a premium tonight at Progressive Field. 

Wednesday’s hurler, Tanner Bibee, has been every bit as dominant versus Tigers’ hitting as Williams. Bibee has allowed one earned run in 13 innings against Tigers, including six strong innings opposite Skubal last week. Jack Flaherty, Wednesday’s starter for Detroit, has pitching okay against Cleveland this season but was pinned with the loss in each start.

A.J. Hinch has not yet named his Thursday starter, and Parker Messick has never pitched versus Detroit before. 

With the success of this week’s starting pitchers, bullpen success and clutch hitting will be king. Will Vest faltered multiple times last week for the Tigers, a team who many feel didn’t add enough to their bullpen in the offseason. Cleveland? Bullpen success and clutch hitter are big reasons they’re here.