CLEVELAND — The same elements that powered their improbable run let them down for one afternoon, and now the Guardians’ collective backs are against the wall.
The Guardians lost Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, 2-1, to the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Progressive Field. It was another Guardians-Tigers classic, an intense nail-biter that was tied or a one-run score wire to wire.
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But the way in which Cleveland lost was, perhaps, uncharacteristic of a team that leaned into its identity during the 2025 season. And now, they’ll have to win back-to-back games to keep their hopes of a deep playoff run alive.
Here are the top takeaways from Guardians-Tigers Game 1.
Jose Ramirez made an extremely rare mistake, but maybe he had no other choice
There’s an argument to be made that Jose Ramirez is not only baseball’s most exciting baserunner, but its smartest. His baseball IQ, his inner clock and his instincts have been applauded by managers (Terry Francona and Stephen Vogt), teammates, coaches and opposing players. In that aspect, he’s a generational talent. Few elements in baseball are more exciting than when Ramirez is rounding second or third, with his helmet far behind him on the ground somewhere.
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In the bottom of the ninth of Game 1, he nearly single-handedly tied it himself, as he forced a difficult play on an infield single and then made it all the way to third after a throwing error on the play. Of course, somehow, he ended up on third with an incredibly clutch play — it was both improbable and his brand of baseball. For a brief moment, it even seemed possible he might just score.
But moments later, with Kyle Manzardo at the plate, Ramirez was caught making an extremely rare baserunning decision for him — the wrong one. It virtually never happens. Time and time again, Ramirez has scored on plays that arguably nobody else could have. But in this instance, a comebacker by Manzardo to Detroit pitcher Will Vest, Ramirez was caught in a rundown between third and home, and the Guardians lost a few pitches later.
Ramirez declined to speak with reporters after the game but did note he was going on contact. Perhaps therein lies the problem with the Guardians offense, that maybe Ramirez had no other choice but to be uber aggressive? Even during their scorching hot September, there were times in which it felt like Cleveland’s lineup had to virtually pull teeth to scratch across enough runs.
If Ramirez himself was standing at the plate, there’d be no other discourse there, because he’d have to let himself swing the bat. But given the state of Cleveland’s offense, maybe Ramirez had to take the risk as the best chance to score in that moment, and he got burned by it. In this case, Vest fielded it cleanly, and Ramirez had no shot.
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“I mean, the ball’s two feet either way, he scores,” Vogt said. “It just happened to go right back to [Will] Vest. So, we play aggressive. We always do. We run the bases aggressive. I wouldn’t play that any other way. You just hope with a runner on third, less than two outs, we get a ball in the outfield. We weren’t able to do it.”
Guardians starter Gavin Williams celebrates a third-inning strikeout against the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, Sept. 30, 2025 in Cleveland.
Tarik Skubal was dominant, and Gavin Williams went pitch-for-pitch with him
Tarik Skubal is just an absolute monster on the mound. He’s a freight train that somehow, Cleveland has been able to knock off the tracks by the slightest of margins — but not in Game 1.
Skubal at his worst is still an All-Star pitcher. At his best, few hitters have much hope. In Game 1, the Guardians got his best. And yet, one of the biggest takeaways from Game 1 is that Gavin Williams nearly went pitch-for-pitch with Skubal while he was still in the game.
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Skubal struck out 14 hitters and pitched into the eighth inning. The only run the Guardians scored off of him was another inning in which the ball never left the infield.
The Guardians only had two really-hard-hit balls in Game 1, a Johnathan Rodriguez groundout and a Kyle Manzardo single, both in the second inning. But those were also the two hardest-hit balls of the game, which could be a point for Williams, who also didn’t give up an earned run. Instead, errors led to both Detroit runs.
“He was outstanding,” Vogt said of Williams. “What an unbelievably well-pitched game we got to watch. Tarik Skubal was outstanding, punched out 14. Couldn’t get anything off him. Gavin, similarly … filled up the strike zone, landed breaking stuff, was getting swing-and-miss. That was a well-pitched game by both sides.”
For Williams, this was a chance to make up for a performance in last year’s playoff run with which he wasn’t happy. In that case, it was mission accomplished. He struck out eight and allowed five hits and no earned runs in six innings, and he could have gone at least another inning after being taken out at 88 pitches thrown.
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Make no mistake — Skubal had the better day on the mound. But this was the best starting pitcher in the game at his absolute best. Williams went toe-to-toe with him and for the most part held his own. For a pitcher who evolved throughout the season into the staff’s ace, Williams pitched better than the result in Game 1 will indicate.
Williams wanted the moment, and he lived up to it.
Sep 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) and center fielder Angel Martinez (1) celebrates after scoring against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
‘Guards Ball’ is a fun way to win, but it isn’t easy
The “Guards Ball” style that has become Cleveland’s team identity under Vogt can at times be a really fun product for fans to watch, and it certainly leans into an underdog mantra. The Guardians won 88 games and pulled off the greatest in-division comeback in baseball history, so it can be difficult to argue against it.
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But it does lead to a very slim margin of error, and it does require every facet to be running smoothly to work. In reality, it’s the byproduct of a lineup that scored the fewest runs in the AL in the regular season (643) trying to support a pitching staff that went on a historic run in September. When it works, it can be unbelievable and entertaining, but when it doesn’t, the holes in a lineup that was below average begin to show up.
It’s how the Guardians beat Skubal and the Tigers last week with a rally that didn’t include a single ball leaving the infield. They almost pulled it off again in Game 1. Somehow, someway, despite all the projections and odds and statistical data, Cleveland has found a way.
But when any part of it starts to go awry, it can all fall apart. Two defensive errors, one by Rodriguez and one by Jhonkensy Noel, were enough to sink Cleveland in Game 1. And, now, they will be facing elimination and needing to win back-to-back games.
The Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Key takeaways from Guardians Game 1 loss against Tigers