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Ryan Phillips

Three Takeaways From the Tigers' Clutch Game 3 Win Over the Guardians

The Detroit Tigers are moving on to the American League Division Series.

Detroit went on the road and topped the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 in a tightly contested wild-card series. On Thursday, the Tigers secured a 6-3 win thanks to an excellent effort from five pitchers and some timely hitting that eluded them in Game 1 and Game 2.

After an epic collapse to end the season that cost them the AL Central, Detroit rebounded and will now face the top-seeded Seattle Mariners in the ALDS.

What follows are three takeaways from their big win in Game 3.

Jack Flaherty Earned His Rotation Spot

Jack Flaherty led the American League in losses this season, going 8-15 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Detroit lost eight of his last 10 starts, the last two of which came against Cleveland. On Thursday, he stepped up and largely locked down the Guardians.

The 29-year-old allowed one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking two. He was wild, throwing only 43 of his 74 pitches for strikes, but he managed to limit the damage. A George Valera double opened the fourth inning, and Jose Ramirez singled to drive him in, tying the game at 1-1. He worked his way out of it. After getting two outs in the bottom of the fifth, he walked C.J. Kayfus and was relieved by Kyle Finnegan.

He left in a 1-1 game and didn't finish five innings, so he was ineligible for the win, but he put Detroit in position to come out ahead. He's earned his postseason rotation spot.

Detroit Can Get Timely Hits

In the first two games of the series, the Tigers were 2-23 with runners in scoring position, including going 1-15 in a 6-1 loss in Game 2. Their bats woke up in Game 3 as they went 5-12, including three straight singles with runners in scoring position in the seventh inning.

Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Wenceel Perez came through when they had to, giving Detroit a 6-1 lead and some breathing room. Catcher Dillon Dingler, who grew up in Ohio rooting for the Guardians, also came up big. His two-out home run in the top of the sixth put the Tigers up 2-1. They never trailed again.

The Tigers can hit in the clutch, they just needed to get some confidence back. Once they did, it was contagious.

Cleveland Didn't Have Enough Offense

Yes, the Guardians' late-season run was remarkable and even inspiring. Unfortunately, it wasn't sustainable.

On the season, Cleveland's wRC+ of 87 ranked 28th in all of baseball, ahead of only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. Guardians hitters generated 13.2 fWAR, which ranked 25th, and their wxOBA of .299 was dead last. Eventually, that was going to catch up with them.

In the three games of the series, Cleveland's hitters slashed .178/.253/.322 for a woeful OPS of .575. They did have three home runs and eight RBIs, but also struck out 24 times with nine walks. Something has to change.

The Guardians brought up Chas DeLauter for the postseason in a move to juice the team's lineup, while top prospect and former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana is at Triple A. While Bazzana struggled a bit at that level, it wouldn't surprise me if Cleveland had him at second base to start the 2026 campaign.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Takeaways From the Tigers' Clutch Game 3 Win Over the Guardians.

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