The Cleveland Guardians have stormed back to steal the AL Central from the Detroit Tigers. They were 15.5 games back of the Tigers on July 8, finishing the season with an AL-best 45-26 record since then. Cleveland won five of six games against Detroit in September to storm back from the extreme deficit. With the Tigers' loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, the Guardians are American League Central champions.
For the second year in a row, the American League Central runs through Cleveland.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/m0g0ezknfB
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 28, 2025
The Guardians won the AL Central in 2024 as well and beat the Tigers in the ALDS to return to the Championship Series for the first time since 2016. They lost to the New York Yankees in just five games. Now, they have a three-game Wild Card series with Detroit on deck.
The Guardians faced an uphill battle to start September, sitting 10.5 games out of the AL Central lead. According to FanGraphs, they had just a 2.9% chance to make the playoffs and a 0.2% chance to win the AL Central. Pitching was the key to the comeback, allowing just 67 runs in September before the last game.
The Guardians have a lot of playoff experience on their roster, especially with third baseman Jose Ramirez. The veteran was sensational down the stretch, with an .894 OPS in September entering the final game. He was a young star on the 2016 American League champions and is looking for that elusive World Series title.
The Guardians will get home-field advantage in the Wild Card series against the Tigers. They took two of three from Detroit in Cleveland toward the end of the regular season, which included a win over Tarik Skubal. Even in the win, the Guardians only managed two earned runs total off the Cy Young favorite.
The Guardians and Tigers begin the American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday, one of four games on the day. Can they get to Skubal to secure a series-opening win?
