Numbers to Know for Tigers' Game 2 Wild Card Matchup Against Guardians
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After a wild ending to the season where the Detroit Tigers watched their lead over the AL Central dwindle to the point where they lost the division to the surging Cleveland Guardians, they were forced to travel back to Cleveland for the Wild Card Series.
Facing off against their rivals once again didn't matter for Tarik Skubal, though, as he dominated the Guardians' offense and powered his team to a 2-1 victory in the first matchup of this best-of-three series. Now, the Tigers are looking to close out this Wild Card round in sweeping fashion so they can move on and play the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS.
Below are numbers to know about how Detroit stacks up against Cleveland's starting pitcher Tanner Bibee ahead of this important Game 2 showdown on Wednesday.
Three Matchups
The Tigers are in a weird spot; they've only seen Bibee three times this season, but two of those came in the last two weeks of the season. None of them went particularly great for Detroit, either, but they did show signs of starting to hit by their third meeting.
In the first matchup of the season, on May 22, they failed to score a run on Bibee, as he dominated the lineup for seven shutout innings where he allowed just three hits and struck out eight. In the last two meetings (Sept. 18 and Sept. 24), they managed to scratch a run across in both and got four and five hits, respectively.
While that doesn't suggest it's going to be an offensive explosion for the Tigers in Game 2, they are starting to understand his stuff a bit more and could get after him when they need to the most.
Two Homeruns
Across 159 at-bats against Bibee, the Tigers only have two home runs against the Guardians' No. 2 arm in the rotation. Kerry Carpenter and Zach McKinstry are the ones who hit those longballs. That's not to say they haven't found success against him in the past, though. They have 12 doubles off Bibee as a team and have five players with at least 10 at-bats who own a slugging percentage over .400.
Detroit also sports a .258 batting average off of him, which is 13 points higher than the league batting average for the 2025 season. So despite only getting two earned runs on him this season, they have seen him well. Finding extra-base hits and stringing together multiple hits will be key in this matchup.
Zero Wins
All three starts from Bibee for the Guardians against the Tigers this year have resulted in losses for Detroit. Now would be the perfect time to buck that trend. And with a chance to put the series away without needing a Game 3 and using more arms, it is critical for the rest of their postseason success.
Part of the pathway to finding their first win on the biggest stage will come from limiting their strikeouts against Bibee. They have a 23% strikeout rate and a 7% walk rate, both of which are a point below league average. Working the count and limiting their chase should result in more balls in play where they have found success against him.
If there was ever a time for a team to get its first win against someone, it would be in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against their biggest rivals to move on in the playoffs after blowing the division lead against them in the final weeks of the season.
If they do that, the harm from letting the Guardians come back fades.
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JD Andress is an accomplished sports writer and journalist with extensive experience covering a wide range of collegiate sports. JD has provided in-depth coverage of the TCU Horned Frogs and the Texas Longhorns. He looks forward to being part of the coverage of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. His experience spans various sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, rifle, equestrian, and others, reflecting his broad interest and commitment to sports journalism.