Tigers-Guardians playoff preview
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The Tigers' Matt Vierling celebrates beating Houston in the Wild Card Series on Wednesday. Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Who wants to play Detroit now?
- Probably nobody, but the Cleveland Guardians have no choice.
Why it matters: The Tigers' made-for-Hollywood season continues Saturday with Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians.
The big picture: After an underwhelming start, Detroit has been baseball's best team since mid-August, when it had a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs.
- The Tigers won six straight to make the playoffs, then swept the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series to advance to the ALDS.
What they're saying: "There's absolutely no quit. We feel like we've been playing playoff baseball for the past two months … We're playing with confidence, playing free, having fun," pitcher Beau Brieske told the Detroit News.
Fun fact: This will be the Tigers' first time playing a division opponent in the playoffs, per the News.
Zoom in: Game 1's first pitch is Saturday at 1:08pm at Progressive Field, with TBS and 97.1 The Ticket broadcasting the game.
- Game 2 of the best-of-five series will be back in Cleveland on Monday. Game 3 will be Wednesday at Comerica Park.
State of play: Detroit (86-76) will once again be the underdog. Cleveland (92-69) earned a first-round bye and is slightly favored by sports oddsmakers to win Game 1 and the entire series.
Zoom out: The Tigers need more than intangible playoff magic to beat the Guardians.
- Despite tepid preseason expectations, Cleveland jumped out to its best start since 1995 and now feels poised for a deep postseason run.
The other side: The Guardians have an edge at six of 11 positions, including both the pitching rotation and the bullpen, according to MLB.com's positional breakdown.
- Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase led the AL with 47 saves while sluggers José Ramírez and Josh Naylor each hit over 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.
If you go: Game 1 tickets are about $200 and up on the secondary market.
- Our colleagues at Axios Cleveland have a handy guide to the city, which is only about a 2.5-hour drive from Detroit.
- The guide recommends places to stay, from swanky to cost-conscious, good restaurants and a few non-sports things to do around town.
The bottom line: No matter what happens in Cleveland, Comerica Park will be rocking on Wednesday for Game 3.