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CLEVELAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Detroit Tigers, who once held what seemed to be an insurmountable lead in the American League Central, have beaten the team that took the division title away from them.
The Tigers won game three of the Wild Card Round in Cleveland by a score of 6-3.
The Tigers struck first when Parker Meadows scored on an RBI double from Kerry Carpenter in the 3rd inning. The Tigers wouldn't be able to bring Carpenter around, but held tight to a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, the Guardians tied it up on an RBI single by Jose Ramirez.
But the tie only lasted until the top of the 6th as Dillon Dingler hit his first post-season homer of the season to put the Tigers up 2-1.
The Guardians went in order in the 6th and the bottom of the Tigers lineup got a rally started with a leadoff double by Javy Baez and a single by Parker Meadows. Gleyber Torres grounded out and the Guardians decided to walk Carpenter to face Wenceel Perez instead. That was a mistake.
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 02: Spencer Torkelson #20 of the Detroit Tigers hits an RBI single in the seventh inning during Game Three of the American League Wild Card Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on …
Perez smoked one to right, driving home Baez and Meadows and sending Carpenter to 3rd.
Spencer Torkelson drove in Carpenter and Riley Green then drove in Perez and suddenly the Tigers were up 6-1 on the American League Central champions.
Dillon Dingler walked, Zach McKinstry struck out and Baez returned to the plate but flew out to second.
But the Tigers had batted around and gave the bullpen a 6-1 going into the bottom of the 7th.
In the 8th inning, the Guardians tacked on one run after an error at first base.
What's next:
The win helps ease some of the pain of losing the division to Cleveland in the waning days of the season. Detroit once held a 15.5 game lead in the American League Central but, around the All Star break, the Tigers cooled off significantly from their red hot start – just as Cleveland surged to steal the division in the waning days of the season.
With the win, the Tigers advance to the American League Divisional Series where they are guaranteed at least one home game. They'll next play on Saturday in Seattle against the Mariners.
The Tigers struck first when Parker Meadows scored on an RBI double from Kerry Carpenter in the 3rd inning. The Tigers wouldn't be able to bring Carpenter around, but held tight to a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, the Guardians tied it up on an RBI single by Jose Ramirez.
But the tie only lasted until the top of the 6th as Dillon Dingler hit his first post-season homer of the season to put the Tigers up 2-1.
The Guardians went in order in the 6th and the bottom of the Tigers lineup got a rally started with a leadoff double by Javy Baez and a single by Parker Meadows. Gleyber Torres grounded out and the Guardians decided to walk Carpenter to face Wenceel Perez instead. That was a mistake.
Perez smoked one to right, driving home Baez and Meadows and sending Carpenter to 3rd.
Spencer Torkelson drove in Carpenter and Riley Green then drove in Perez and suddenly the Tigers were up 6-1 on the American League Central champions.
Dillon Dingler walked, Zach McKinstry struck out and Baez returned to the plate but flew out to second.
But the Tigers had batted around and gave the bullpen a 6-1 going into the bottom of the 7th.
What's next:
The Tigers advance to play Seattle in the ALDS on Saturday. On the other side of the bracket, the Yankees-Red Sox winner will advance to play the Toronto Blue Jays.