Tigers celebrate with champagne after beating Guardians to make ALDS
The Detroit Tigers celebrate beating the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Cleveland to advance to the ALDS.
It is perhaps a cliché of sorts, in sports — especially after a playoff victory — to say, “No one believed in us!”
Nearly every team, in nearly every situation, has had someone believing in them.
The 2025 Detroit Tigers, after a 7-17 finish in September — a .292 final-month win percentage that ranks as the worst of any playoff team in MLB history — might have a case, however to say, “Very few people believe in us,” less-inspiring though that might be.
Then again, the Tigers have already won one playoff series, taking down the Cleveland Guardians in three games in this week’s AL wild-card series. Actually, the other two playoff teams with a sub-.380 September winning percentage — the 2020 Houston Astros and the 1998 San Diego Padres — won TWO postseason series after their collapses. So the Tigers need at least three more wins to match them.
Will the sixth-seeded Tigers get there against the second-seeded M’s, who’ve been off since September (and posted a .680 win percentage in the month) in a best-of five ALDS? Five Free Press writers chime in on their October thoughts.
Carlos Monarrez
The Mariners are the better team, offensively and on the mound. The Tigers at least catch a break with Seattle ace Bryan Woo dealing with a pectoral injury. That, plus the Tarik Skubal advantage, should let the Tigers win one game and steal another. But Cal Raleigh and the M’s loaded lineup is too much to overcome. The pick: Mariners in 5.
Evan Petzold
The Mariners enter October with the AL’s most complete roster — an elite rotation (even without injured ace Bryan Woo), a dominant bullpen anchored by Andrés Muñoz and a top-tier offense powered by Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez. The Tigers’ advantage: A.J. Hinch is a better tactical manager than Dan Wilson. The Tigers must steal Game 1 with Troy Melton starting and bullpen chaos to follow, then win Game 2 behind Tarik Skubal. If that happens, the Tigers will need only one more win in the last three games of the series, with Skubal lined up to start a potential Game 5. The pick: Tigers in 4.
Jeff Seidel
Let’s see. You are telling me that Troy Melton is gonna get a start. Tarik Skubal could get two. And you have Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty as well? Yes, I see three wins there. It won’t be easy, of course. Especially if the late-season-strugglin’ Tigers show up in Seattle. But I truly think this team turned a corner in Cleveland. The pick: Tigers in 5.
Shawn Windsor
What we’ve got here is a nice little referendum: a team that made aggressive moves at the deadline versus a team that made moderate moves at the deadline. The Tigers aren’t here without reliever Kyle Finnegan. So at least there’s that. Meanwhile, the Mariners added Josh Naylor, Caleb Ferguson and Eugenio Suárez. Naylor has been terrific while Ferguson and Suárez have been uneven. Overall, Seattle has more power and talent in its lineup and that will be the difference. The pick: Mariners in 5.
Celebrate 125 seasons of the Tigers!
Ryan Ford
It’s still a short series, and Tarik Skubal dominates in Game 2; the Tigers ride the vibes of the Comerica Park crowd for a Game 3 win, to get within a win of the ALCS. But for the second straight year, the Tigers fall. At least there won’t be a grand slam in Game 5. We think. The pick: Mariners in 5.