The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians kick off the biggest series of their seasons on Tuesday night. Jose Ramirez has led the Guardians on a late season run, quickly closing the gap with the Tigers. Detroit, on the other hand, has had to deal with an injury scare with Tarik Skubal as they stumble towards the finish. Now, the Tigers must face Steven Kwan and Co. in a three game set.
Cleveland's chances to win the American League Central have jumped up drastically over the last two weeks. According to ESPN, the Guardians are now favored to make it into the AL playoff picture. However, Ramirez and Co. are not satisfied with a Wild Card berth. They are 9-1 over their last ten games, hoping to take advantage of a Tigers team that is 1-9 over the same stretch.
There is a lot riding on this week's series. While it has big implications on the playoff standings in the AL, there are some individual players who could make a statement. Skubal's injury scare appears behind him, but the AL Cy Young favorite is under pressure to perform on the mound. Injuries and inconsistency have Detroit's rotation looking rough to end the regular season.
The Guardians are leading the season series against the Tigers 6-4. Both teams exchanged road sweeps the last time they played one another, earlier this month and back at the beginning of July. One way or another, the season series will be decided this week, and the winner has a great chance to win the division. Because of that, neither squad is going to pull its punches.
Here are three bold predictions for what could happen throughout the series.
1. Tarik Skubal gets out-dueled by Gavin Williams in the series opener
Unfortunately for Major League Baseball fans everywhere, Skubal will not face Tanner Bibee on Tuesday night. The two aces have to wait for a potential postseason series in order to face one another. Instead, Detroit's ace will square off against Gavin Williams, the No. 2 player in Stephen Vogt's rotation. It is not a top-tier matchup, but it has a good chance to deliver some fireworks.
Williams put together one of the best starts of the regular season earlier this year. Compared to his opponent on Tuesday night, he is by far the inferior pitcher. However, his numbers at home are elite and he is riding a three-game winning streak spread over four starts. Over that stretch, the 26-year-old has allowed four earned runs and pitched his way through 25 total innings.
While Williams is on a roll, he faces his toughest matchup of the season in Skubal. Each pitcher is fully capable of making their way through seven innings without giving up a single run. However, the Guardians' offense has been on fire and is due for a bounce back performance against Skubal. Williams will pitch effectively and get a win against one of the league's best arms.
2. Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan lead a dominant Guardians offensive effort
The Guardians' offense is firing on all cylinders over the past three weeks. Cleveland earned the moniker of a “pitching factory” over the past few years, but its bats have woken up. The primary catalyst for that is Ramirez, who is putting the finishing touches on another MVP caliber season. He will not win the award at the end of the day, but he deserves his place in the conversation.
Ramirez has already joined Alfonso Soriano in MLB history earlier this week. The infielder would love to set some new records against an AL Central rival in a huge series. However, he is not the only player who has the ability to catch fire at the plate. As good as he has been, Kwan is his partner-in-crime on offense that has helped the Guardians climb up the standings.
Kwan's future is in question and the pending free agent has some big decisions to make. For now, though, he is one of the biggest reasons why Cleveland is in position to steal the division away from Detroit. In order to win, the Guardians need great offensive series from all of their stars. Luckily for them, Kwan and Ramirez are hot enough to lead them to a series win with ease.
3. Detroit stops their skid and secures the AL Central with a series win
The Tigers' season went from excellent to concerning to tragic over the course of the year. However, Detroit manager AJ Hinch is not worried about his team bouncing back before the playoffs. The sheer talent on his roster gives him confidence heading into any series, no matter how bad the team has been. Because of that, the Tigers will find a way to win this week's series.
Detroit avoids another start from Charlie Morton, who has been terrible. With him out of the rotation, Skubal and Jack Flaherty will lead the way. They will take on Williams and Bibee, respectively, setting up what could be a winner-take-all final game on Thursday. Right now, Cleveland is one game behind in the AL Central standings with just six games left in the regular season.
The Tigers do not have another home game for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the Guardians are on a tear and do not leave Cleveland. From a third party perspective, everything seems to be going in Cleveland's favor. However, Detroit has the pieces in place to put an end to the Guardians run and win the AL Central, giving the team momentum heading into the postseason.
