AL Central foes Tigers, Guardians clash with playoffs on horizon

A Detroit Tigers division title seemed inevitable most of the season. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Cleveland Guardians have changed that narrative, ramping up the importance of their three-game series in Detroit this week.

Cleveland (78-71) has won nine of its last 10 games to pull within 6 1/2 games of Detroit (85-65) in the American League Central Division.

The Guardians will also host the Tigers for another three games next week. If Cleveland can win at least five of those six matchups, it has a real shot at catching Detroit in the standings. Even if the Tigers hold on, the Guardians can greatly improve their chances of nabbing a wild-card spot.

Converted reliever Joey Cantillo (5-3, 3.36 ERA) will start the series opener Tuesday night for Cleveland following a career-best outing last week. He held Kansas City scoreless through eight innings, giving up just four hits without a walk and five strikeouts.

"That was Pitching 101 from Joey Cantillo (Tuesday), and that was a lot of fun to watch," manager Stephen Vogt said.

Cantillo was in the minors from late May to early July. When he was recalled, he was moved into the rotation. He has settled in during his last four starts, allowing no more than one run in each.

"Obviously, the outings up here, some have been good and some have been a little bit more of a struggle of just attacking the zone," Cantillo said. "I was falling behind in counts, and I was putting guys on base. Like we saw (Tuesday), throwing strikes, it's a necessity, and really good things are going to happen when you're challenging hitters."

"That was basically all that I wanted to continue to work on, and that's an ongoing process every day."

Cantillo has pitched two scoreless relief innings against the Tigers in his young career, including one during last year's playoffs.

He'll be opposed by Casey Mize (14-5, 3.83 ERA), who has collected victories in five of his last seven starts. Mize gave up two solo homers to the New York Yankees on Tuesday but didn't allow another run in six innings. He also struck out eight without issuing a walk.

"It's a team that slugs a lot, obviously and we felt like if they were going to be on the heater, throw the slider," Mize said. "I feel really good throwing that pitch in the zone. And it looks like a fastball, so you hope it gets off the barrel just enough to where they can't do any damage on it."

Mize delivered a stellar performance against the Guardians on July 5, tossing seven scoreless innings. He's 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA in three career outings against them.

The Tigers ended a three-game slide with a 2-0 win over Miami on Sunday.

"We definitely wanted to get this last game and create a little momentum going into the (Cleveland) series," catcher Dillon Dingler said. "Especially going back home. I'm sure the crowds are going to be great and I'm sure the games are going to feel like playoff games, however you want to look at the picture. It'll be a lot of fun."

The Guardians are currently 2.5 games out of the final wild card spot.

--Field Level Media