play

Aaron Judge or Cal Raleigh: Who has the edge in the AL MVP race?

USA TODAY Sports’ Gabe Lacques discusses the battle between sluggers Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh for the American League MVP.

Sports Pulse

The first of three win-or-go-home Game 3s in MLB’s wild-card round will pit two American League Central division foes against each other one last time in 2025.

Thursday’s game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field will be the ninth time the rivals have faced off in 17 days. The Guardians won five of the last six regular-season matchups to boost them to their second consecutive division title.

The Tigers took Game 1 of this AL Wild Card Series behind a dominant performance from starter Tarik Skubal, and the Guardians got even in Game 2 behind a tiebreaking five-run eighth inning that included home runs by Brayan Rocchio and Bo Naylor.

The winner of Thursday’s game will fly to Seattle to take on the AL West-winning Mariners in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday.

Follow along for live updates from Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series between the Tigers and Guardians:

Watch Tigers at Guardians on Fubo (free trial)

—123456789TOTDET001001CLE00010

With very few hits and even fewer runs on the day, Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler came up big in the top of the sixth, hitting a home run off Joey Cantillo to right center field, making it a 2-1 game.

The homer was Dingler’s first hit of the series.

Just like the end of the fourth inning, a one-out walk in the top of the fifth was followed up with a high chopper straight to second base from Wenceel Perez. Cleveland shortstop Bryan Rocchio only needed to step on the base and toss to first to end the inning.

It is still tied 1-1.

After Ramirez’s RBI single, Flaherty’s job was made much easier when catcher Dillon Dingler threw Ramirez out as he tried to swipe second base. Although Flaherty would walk Kyle Manzardo next, Chase DeLauter would bounce a high ground ball straight to second base, allowing the Tigers to pull off an easy double play.

We head to the fifth. Game is tied, 1-1.

Who else but Jose Ramirez?

After a double from George Valera to leadoff the bottom of the fourth inning, Jose Ramirez came up clutch for the Guardians as he’s done so many times before, smashing a single back up the middle and driving Valera home.

The game is tied and Ramirez stands on first base with no one out. The Tigers bullpen is up and moving.

After a strikeout to lead off the inning, Guardians’ pitcher Joey Cantillo found some trouble allowing both Dillon Dingler and Zach McKinstry to reach base.

Cantillo would bounce back though, sending Javier Baez down on strikes to face Parker Meadows with two outs. Meadows would fly out to Kwan in left.

The score remains 1-0 Detroit.

Playing with a lead now, Flaherty felt no pressure in the third inning, setting down the Guardians in order.

We go to the fourth inning. Detroit leads, 1-0.

With two men in scoring position and only one out, Herrin forced Wenceel Perez to pop out back to the mound. He then battled back from a 2-0 count against Spencer Torkelson to strike him out. The Tigers leave two men on base, but lead 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third.

After two solid innings, Slade Cecconi hit a road bump surrendering back-to-back hits to Parker Meadows and Gleyber Torres, putting runners on the corners with only one out.

Though the Tigers were only 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position this series, Vogt opted to go to the bullpen, bringing in the southpaw Tim Herrin to face Kerry Carpenter, who is notoriously weak against lefties.

Shockingly though, Carpenter would get a hit on a sharp ground ball to C.J. Kayfus at first. The ball would ricochet off Kayfus into foul ground allowing both Carpenter and Torres to reach scoring position.

The Guardians picked up the first hit of the game with Chase DeLauter smacking a one-out single to right field. He’d stop there, however, as Jack Flaherty made quick work of the rest of Cleveland’s lineup. Only Bo Naylor gave Flaherty trouble, forcing an eight-pitch at-bat that ended up with him popping out to second base.

Heading to the third, this game remains scoreless.

Any Cleveland fans worried about Cecconi’s pitch count after the first can breathe a little easier. The third-year pro got through the 5-6-7 hitters in the Tigers’ lineup in just eight pitches, putting him at 34 for the game. We remain scoreless heading into the bottom of the second.

If Cecconi’s first inning went as well as it could have, Jack Flaherty matched his Cleveland counterpart, going three-up, three-down and ending the inning by punching out Jose Ramirez. We head to the second inning, still tied at 0.

The first inning went about as well as it could have for Slade Cecconi. He struck out two Tigers including an inning ending punchout to Tigers’ cleanup man Spencer Torkelson.

While Cecconi did walk one batter, he looked composed, which is reportedly why Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt wanted him for this do-or-die Game 3.

The only other downside was that Cecconi needed 26 pitches to get through the inning. At this rate, he may not last even four innings.

What time is Tigers vs. Guardians Game 3?Date: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025Start time: 3:08 p.m. ET

Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series between the Tigers and Guardians will start at 3:08 p.m. ET from Progressive Field in Cleveland.

What channel is Tigers vs. Guardians Game 3?TV channel: ABCStreaming: ESPN app, FuboMLB postseason bracket

American League

National League

Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports MLB writers and editors see Game 3 of the Tigers-Guardians wild-card series shaking out:

Bob Nightengale: Guardians 4, Tigers 2Gabe Lacques: Tigers 4, Guardians 2Jesse Yomtov: Guardians 5, Tigers 3

Right-hander Jack Flaherty is no stranger to pitching with the spotlight the brightest. Flaherty appeared in five games during the Dodgers’ World Series run last year, including two starts in the World Series against the Yankees. Flaherty had a disappointing 2025 regular season, going 8-15 with a 4.64 ERA. He did finish strong, posting a 3.86 ERA in four starts during September, which was his best month aside from April. Flaherty faced the Guardians three times during the season and went 0-3 with a 3.94 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. His final two regular-season starts came against Cleveland, which scored one earned run in five innings on Sept. 17 and tagged him for three earned runs in 4.1 innings on Sept. 24.

Acquired for Josh Naylor during the offseason, right-hander Slade Cecconi was a bit of a stabilizing force for Cleveland this year. Cecconi gave the Guardians 23 starts and was 7-7 with a 4.30 ERA during the season. Cecconi was clutch for the Guardians down the stretch, allowing two or fewer runs in four of his final five starts, compiling a 2.19 ERA during that stretch.

Gleyber Torres, 2BKerry Carpenter, DHWenceel Perez, RFSpencer Torkelson, 1BRiley Greene, LFDillon Dingler, CZach McKinstry, 3BJavier Baez, SSParker Meadows, CFSteven Kwan, LFGeorge Valera, RFJose Ramirez, 3BKyle Manzardo, DHChase DeLauter, CFGabriel Arias, SSBo Naylor, CC.J. Kayfus, 1BBrayan Rocchio, 2BWild card series

Tuesday, Sept. 30

Tigers 2, Guardians 1 (Detroit leads 1-0)Cubs 3, Padres 1 (Chicago leads 1-0)Red Sox 3, Yankees 1 (Boston leads 1-0)Dodgers 10, Reds 5 (Los Angeles leads 1-0)

Wednesday, Oct. 1

Guardians 6, Tigers 1 (Series tied 1-1)Padres 3, Cubs 0 (Series tied 1-1)Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 (Series tied 1-1)Dodgers 8, Reds 4 (Los Angeles wins 2-0)

Thursday, Oct. 2

Tigers at Guardians, Game 3: 3:08 p.m. ET, ABCPadres at Cubs, Game 3: 5:08 p.m. ET, ESPNRed Sox at Yankees, Game 3: 8:08 p.m. ET, ESPNDivision series

Saturday, Oct. 4

Yankees/Red Sox at Blue Jays, Game 1, TBDTigers/Guardians at Mariners, Game 1, TBDCubs/Padres at Brewers, Game 1, TBS/truTV/HBO MaxDodgers at Phillies, Game 1: TBS/truTV/HBO Max

Detroit finished 87-75 to each the No. 6 wild card in the American League. The Tigers held a 14-game lead in the division on July 8 but went 28-41 after that and lost the AL Central lead during the final week of the season.

Cleveland was 88-74, rallying from a 15.5-game deficit in early July to win its second consecutive division title. The Guardians went 48-26 after losing to the Tigers on July 6, that included winning 18 of their final 22 games and taking five of six from the Tigers in the final two weeks.