Tigers Overcome Historic Regular Season Collapse To Advance In Playoffs

At one point in the regular season, the Detroit Tigers had a 15.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. A 15.5-game lead. For some perspective, the Los Angeles Angels finished in last place in the American League West, and they were just 19 games behind the Seattle Mariners. 

By the end of the regular season, the Guardians had won the division. If that sounds bad, it's because it is. Literally the largest division lead ever blown in the history of Major League Baseball. 

Thanks to the Mariners and Blue Jays finishing with better records and the Astros' injuries, the fight between Detroit and Cleveland came down to home field advantage in the wild card series. Cleveland won it.

But in yet another sign that many postseason narratives are built on inaccurate assumptions, Detroit on Thursday advanced to the American League Division Series with a 6-3 win over the Guardians. 

Detroit Tigers pitcher Will Vest (19), center, and teammates celebrate 6-3 win over Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of AL wild-card series at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers Advance To ALDS Despite Disastrous September

In yet another close game between two evenly matched teams, the top of the seventh inning on Thursday started with Detroit clinging to a 2-1 lead. But a four-run rally gave the Tigers some separation and a 6-1 lead. 

Cleveland battled back to add two, but closer Will Vest had an uneventful ninth inning to secure the series-clinching win. 

After blowing a 15.5-game lead, the Tigers are now heading to Seattle for a best-of-5 ALDS against the Mariners. That's impressive resiliency, and it speaks to their ability to refocus with the stakes at their highest. 

But not only did this win keep them alive in their hopes of winning their first World Series since 1984, it showed that many assumptions about postseason success are wrong. One of the most common is that it's important to play your best heading into the playoffs, that momentum can carry teams forward. 

Well, the Tigers went 7-17 in September. That was the second-worst record in baseball, ahead of just the 4-21 Colorado Rockies. It's impossible to have less momentum than that. Yet they won their first series. 

Meanwhile, the Guardians had the best record in baseball heading into the playoffs. Cleveland went 20-7 to secure home field advantage in the wild card. Then lost in three. Home field doesn't always mean much, and getting hot means even less.