The Guardians are closing in on one of the most historic comebacks in MLB history, at the Tigers' expense. They have surged into first place in the AL Central after nicking the Tigers to death in a three-run rally in the sixth inning of a 5-2 win Tuesday night in Cleveland.
The Guardians fell 15.5 games behind the Tigers on July 6 after getting swept by Detroit in Cleveland. At the time, they had a 0.2 percent chance of winning the division, per Fan Graphs. They still trailed by 12.5 games on Aug. 25 after dropping nine of 10; their chances of winning the division at that point were literally zero percent.
The Guardians have since won 21 of 27, and 16 of their last 18. The Tigers have dropped 19 of their last 26, 10 of their last 11 and seven in a row. Just like that, what seemed like an insurmountable lead is gone.
The Guardians and Tigers are both 85-72, and the Guardians have clinched the tiebreaker by virtue of holding a 7-4 edge in the season series.
Detroit's demise was cruel and unusual Tuesday night. They took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning with ace Tarik Skubal on the mound when the Guardians mustered a three-run rally on a bunt single, an error by Skubal on another bunt, an infield single, a wild pitch, a balk and a ground-out.
The Guardians added two more runs in the seventh with a two-out rally off Tommy Kahnle and Kyle Finnegan, and the Tigers never threatened again. Detroit's hitters struck out 19 times.
If there's a bright side for the Tigers, they still control their own destiny with two more games in Cleveland to come, followed by three this weekend in Boston against a Red Sox team they might be battling for one of the final AL wild card spots.