Tigers’ Horrific Collapse Puts Them in Unthinkable Position Behind Guardians
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The season isn’t over yet, but the biggest collapse in Major League history is now a real thing.
The Detroit Tigers (85-73) lost to the Cleveland Guardians (86-72) for the fifth straight meeting on Wednesday, losing 5-1. The win allowed Cleveland to push forward and take a one-game lead in the American League Central. The loss doesn’t end Detroit’s postseason dreams, nor does it shut the door on winning the division. But it brings the past few weeks of watching Detroit’s lead dwindle into the realm of baseball history.
Last weekend, Sarah Langs at MLB.com and the Elias Sports Bureau posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Cleveland’s rally from a 15.5 game deficit behind the Tigers, which was in early July, would represent the biggest deficit overcome to win a division (1969 to present) or league (pre-1969).
The record was 15 games, a comeback executed by the Boston Braves in 1914. The most memorable for modern baseball fans was the New York Yankees’ 14-game comeback to tie the AL East in 1978. The Yankees broke the tie with a win over the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park on Bucky Dent’s legendary home run over the Green Monster.
If Cleveland ends the season with the division crown, it will have broken the Braves’ record and the Tigers would have a mammoth footnote in Major League history.
Detroit Tigers Playoff Scenarios
Can Detroit still win the division? Yes. But the Tigers cannot finish the season tied with the Guardians. MLB does not use one-game playoffs as tiebreakers anymore. It uses head-to-head records. Cleveland owns the tiebreaker and that won’t change if Detroit wins on Thursday in their series finale. If Detroit wants the title, it must be one game ahead of Cleveland when the season ends.
Based on how Detroit is playing, — the Tigers have lost their last eight games and 11 of their last 12 — they are more likely to claim a wild card berth. That puts them in competition with the Houston Astros, who are having their own swoon and have surrendered the lead in the AL West to the Seattle Mariners.
The good news for Detroit is that the Tigers are one game ahead of the Astros with four games left and they hold a tiebreaker in the event of a tie.
Detroit Tigers Playoff Watch
Detroit Tigers Games Remaining: 4
Detroit Tigers Remaining Schedule: Sept. 25 at Cleveland; Sept. 26-28, at Boston.
AL Central Race (after Sept. 24)
Cleveland Guardians: 86-72 (lead division)
Detroit Tigers: 85-73 (1.0 game behind)
Cleveland Guardians Remaining Schedule (4 games): Sept. 25, vs. Detroit; Sept. 26-28, vs. Texas.
AL Wild Card Race
(after Sept. 24)
New York Yankees: 90-68 (5.0 games ahead*)
Boston Red Sox: 87-71 (2.0 games ahead)
Detroit Tigers: 85-73 (final wild card berth)
Houston Astros: 84-74 (1.0 game out of final wild card berth)
*-Yankees are tied for AL East lead but Toronto holds tiebreaker in event of season-ending tie between two teams.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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