Six Tigers shut out Guardians for 2-1 ALDS lead
DETROIT — Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson each drove in a run, and six pitchers combined to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 3-0 win over Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in their American League Division Series.
The Tigers, baseball’s hottest team the past two months, will have their first chance to advance in the playoffs since 2013 on Thursday night in Game 4 at Comerica Park.
“We’re human,” Torkelson said. “We know how close we are.”
Cleveland has gone 20 straight innings without scoring since opening the series with a five-run first and a two-run sixth in a 7-0 win.
“Short sample size, obviously in the playoffs it’s a lot more magnified,” David Fry said after going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, contributing to the team’s eight runners left on base. “I think guys have hit balls hard. Balls aren’t really falling.”
After AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal helped Detroit shut out Cleveland in Game 2, manager A.J. Hinch put a stream of pitchers on the mound and kept the Guardians quiet at the plate.
Detroit reliever Will Vest entered with two on and two outs in the seventh and got David Fry to line out to Matt Vierling at third.
“He likes to pull the ball a lot, so I was ready for anything that came my way,” Vierling said. “I didn’t have time to think. I just had to react.”
Fans were fired up all day, chanting “Let’s go Tigers!” before the first playoff pitch in Detroit since 2014, and 44,885 were in the stands for the largest crowd in Comerica Park’s 25-year history.
“This is a huge victory for us, just to see the stadium and the whole city come out for the first playoff game in a decade,” Vierling said.
Right-hander Keider Montero retired the side in order in the first, and the previously slumping Greene hit a two-out RBI single in the home half.
Brant Hurter gave up five hits in 3⅓ innings. Beau Brieske pitched two innings, and Sean Guenther got one out. Vest threw 1⅓ innings before Tyler Holton handled the ninth.
“Nothing that happened caught us off guard,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “We were prepared for all of it.”
It’s the first time Detroit has recorded two shutouts in a postseason series. It’s also the first time since the 1905 World Series that the first three games of a postseason series all were shutouts.
The Guardians had a chance to score in the third. Steven Kwan reached on a one-out infield single and advanced on shortstop Tyler Sweeney’s throwing error. Jose Ramirez was intentionally walked with two outs, but Josh Naylor hit an inning-ending groundout.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the third after No. 9 hitter Jake Rogers led off with a double, advanced to third on Parker Meadows‘ grounder and scored on Vierling’s sacrifice fly.
Cleveland’s pitchers did enough to keep the AL Central champions in the game, but the lack of offense made it moot.
The Guardians went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
“I thought we did a great job setting the table,” Vogt said. “We just weren’t able to come up with a big hit.”
The Guardians gave righty Alex Cobb the start for his first appearance since Sept. 1. He gave up two runs and three hits in three innings.
Eli Morgan gave up Torkelson’s RBI double in the sixth. The slugger had been 0 for 14 with nine strikeouts in the postseason.
“In the playoffs you don’t get caught up in the numbers, you’re just trying to win and we’re doing that,” Torkelson said. “It felt pretty good to come through there.”
UP NEXT
Cleveland right-hander Tanner Bibee is scheduled to start Game 4. Detroit probably will wait until Thursday to announce who will open on the mound as the first of at least a handful of pitchers it will plan to play.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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