The Detroit Tigers put their late-season woes behind them and clinched the ALDS berth with a 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, in Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field. With the victory, Detroit eliminated Cleveland and will face the Seattle Mariners in the best-of-five Division Series starting Saturday, Oct. 4, in Seattle.
Hall-of-fame basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale, famously known as “Dickie V,” took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the win.
“It’s party time in Motown @tigers finally have something to feel good about by beating @CleGuardians 6-3 since their collapse in blowing a 15 ½ game lead that cost them the AL Midwest division. Now they should feel terrific as they get ready to face @Mariners,” Vitale wrote.
Detroit struck first in Game 3. Designated hitter Kerry Carpenter opened the scoring in the third inning with a double down the first-base line that clanged off Cleveland first baseman C.J. Kayfus’s glove. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead, though the Guardians tied the game in the fourth when Jose Ramirez singled in a run off Detroit starter Jack Flaherty, who had allowed just one hit and no runs through the first three innings.
The game turned on its head in the final four innings. Dillon Dingler, the Tigers’ catcher, sent one over the fence for a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning, his first hit of the postseason, crushing a middle-up changeup from left-handed reliever Joey Cantillo over the 19-foot wall in left field. Detroit then exploded for four runs in the seventh. Wenceel Pérez, batting third for the game, ripped a two-RBI single with the bases loaded, while Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene added RBI singles, giving the Tigers a commanding 6-1 lead. Before this, Perez had only five hits in his last 66 plate appearances.
The Guardians, who ranked 28th in runs scored and park-adjusted offense during the 2025 regular season, mounted a minor comeback with two runs in the eighth inning due to a miscue by reliever Will Vest. Vest regained his composure and slammed the door in the ninth, keeping the 6-3 lead intact.
Flaherty, a playoff veteran who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2024 World Series after a midseason trade from Detroit, finished 4⅔ innings with one run allowed on three hits and two walks, striking out four while throwing 74 pitches. He now boasts a 1.62 ERA across three winner-take-all postseason starts over 11 games.
For the first time since Sept. 10, Detroit’s offense found its groove, scoring more than five runs and sending a clear message to the Guardians, who famously battled back from a 15 ½ game deficit to win the AL Central. The Tigers will now try to carry this hot streak into Seattle against the second-seeded Mariners, hoping to break through in the Division Series for the first time since 2013.
