Cleveland Guardians Close Gap on Detroit Tigers, Inch Closer to MLB Playoffs

Drew Thirion|published: Thu 18th September, 17:14 2025

May 24, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Gabriel Arias (13) throws to first after tagging Detroit Tigers second base Gleyber Torres (25) out at second during the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

After a 0-10 stretch in the middle of Summer, the Cleveland Guardians looked dead in the water. They were 15.5 games back of the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were sent to baseball purgatory, and the Guardians had just traded former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The vibes in Cleveland couldn’t have been any lower.

Fast forward to this afternoon, and the Guardians finished a three-game sweep of the Tigers, and the division lead has been cut to 3.5 games.

Cleveland has put the heat on Detroit, and next week’s rematch between the two might decide the AL Central.

I’m not sure the Guardians are even good at baseball, but their pitching staff has figured things out at the perfect time.

It wasn’t a surprise that the Guardians were under .500 for multiple points of this season. They probably have the worst offense in the sport. Luckily, during this 12-1 stretch for the Guardians, the pitching staff has been unhittable. They’ve held their opponents to three or fewer runs in 11 out of their last 13 games.

Not only that, but until this series in Detroit, they’ve been running a 6-man rotation, which I believe has helped this pitching staff get deeper into games, as all of the starters have been playing their best baseball.

At the start of the week, the Guardians had a 4% chance to make the playoffs, and those odds have risen to 24%. They still only have an 8% chance to win the AL Central, but the Tigers are in an utter free fall.

Most importantly, if the Guardians can continue to apply pressure to the other playoff-contending teams, Detroit's final series against Boston could help Cleveland either win the division or take the final wild card spot from the Red Sox.

Cleveland has needed every single one of these wins, as before this 12-1 stretch, they were 2.5 games back from the last wild card, trying to chase down the Mariners; however, Seattle managed to pull off a 10-game win streak of their own, and they’ve even taken control of the AL West.

In some years, the third wild card slot can allow some weaker teams to qualify for the playoffs. Cleveland might be considered one of those weaker teams, but whoever claims the final wild card spot in the AL will probably get close to winning 90 games. It’s not too often that bad teams win 90 games. More importantly, fans of baseball will be fortunate to watch tons of meaningful baseball as the season winds to a close.