Takeaways From Cleveland Guardians Series Win Over Tigers

The Cleveland Guardians marched into Comerica Park and stunned the Detroit Tigers, winning three of the four games in the series.

Cleveland may still be 4.0 games back in the American League Central, but their performance on the road over the weekend certainly showed they are good enough to win the division.

Here are three observations and takeaways from the Guardians series victory.

Cleveland's Clutch Bullpen

Without Cleveland's bullpen's heroics, the Guardians wouldn't have won three of four games against the Tigers. The bullpen shined and had big moments in each of the four games.

In game one, Cade Smith walked onto the mound with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Tigers threatened to tie the game or take the lead at worst.

Smith wasn't phased and struck out all three batters he faced to get out of the jam.

Cade followed this performance with three more strikeouts and no hits in a clutch outing in the series' third game.

Hunter Gaddis was also stellar over the weekend, throwing a season-high 24 pitches in 2.0 clean innings to help the Guardians secure a victory on Friday night.

These bullpen performances were reminiscent of the dominant reliever core the Guardians had in 2024.

Believable because it's Cade Smith.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/DB8y144NHs
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 23, 2025

Jose Ramirez's Greatness Continues

Jose Ramirez continues to be one of the best players in baseball, and his impact and baseball IQ willed the Guardians to a series win over the Tigers.

Ramirez hit .352 (6-for-17) in the series and extended his hitting streak to 18 games, tying a career-high.

However, his biggest impact came on the base paths, especially in Saturday night's win.

Ramirez tied the game in the top of the eighth inning on a heads-up play, following a weakly hit ball by Angel Martinez. J-Ram got a great read on the ball, broke for him, and scored Cleveland's third run of the game.

Stephen Vogt said, "There's very few people in the game that score on that ball."

May 24, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez (11) looks on during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images | Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

Guardians' Bats Heat Up Late

The Guardians scored 17 runs in their series against the Tigers, but what was important was when Cleveland scored these runs.

Cleveland scored nine of their runs in the eighth inning or later. This included a four-run ninth inning in the series opener and a four-run 10th inning in Saturday's win.

It may be cliche, but the Guardians truly never give up, and that's a sign of a ball club with plenty of resilience.

Cleveland's Clutch Bullpen

Jose Ramirez's Greatness Continues

Guardians' Bats Heat Up Late

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