Keider Montero and Tigers Make History With Rare Achievement Against Guardians
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The Detroit Tigers took their first series over their AL Central rivals, the Cleveland Guardians, since knocking them out of the playoffs last season, taking two of three at Comerica Park. Now, Detroit sits in second place, with the first-place Chicago White Sox coming into town for a huge three-game series.
The story of the series against Cleveland was the starting pitching. In games one and three, both Drew Anderson and Keider Montero dealt on the mound, giving the Tigers' offense a chance to go out and win the games. But game three had something unseen in over a decade.
Detroit Pitching Makes History
For background, Montero took the mound for his third start of August in a must-win game for the Tigers. He would pitch 6.1 innings, allowing three hits and one walk before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
Tyler Holton, who's been Detroit's best reliever post-All-Star break, pitched in 1.2 innings, allowing just one hit and lowering his ERA to 2.68 on the season, before handing the ball to closer Kenley Jansen, who notched his 491st career save.
Notice one key statistic missing? Strikeouts.
Not a single Guardian hitter struck out against the Tigers pitching staff in the series finale, yet couldn't get a run across, as Detroit intended. It was the first time since 2014 that a team has allowed zero runs without striking out a single opposing batter, according to multiple sources.
While Montero, Holton, and Jansen would have liked to secure some strikeouts added to their season totals, they all made their pitching, securing another shutout victory to improve to one game below .500, with a chance of walking away in first place should they sweep the White Sox this weekend.
The Tigers Are Getting Hot
The mantra created in the 2024 season, "Don't Let the Tigers Get Hot," still rings true two years later, with a postseason berth now visible at the end of the tunnel. Since late July (July 28), Detroit has yet to lose two straight games, which might be a small detail but a massive one given how they're performing.
If the pitching staff continues to pitch well throughout each high-leverage game, and the offense continues to click on all cylinders, the Tigers could very well reach their preseason expectations of winning the division. However, what's been learned in 2026 for this Tigers franchise is that it can't look at the finish line until it's right beneath its nose.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.