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Detroit Tigers win vs Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of AL wild card<\/p>\n
Evan Petzold breaks down the Detroit Tigers’ 6-3 win vs the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the AL wild-card series on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.<\/p>\n
After a playoff series just dripping with history and rivalry and \u2026 Midwest-ness \u2014 for those keeping track, the Detroit Tigers<\/a> are now ahead in their 125-season rivalry<\/a> with the Guardians, 1,118 wins to 1,117 wins<\/a> (see you next year, Cleveland) \u00a0\u2014 we\u2019re left to pivot to an ALDS against the Seattle Mariners<\/a>, who are making just the sixth playoff appearance in their 49 seasons.<\/p>\n Oh, there\u2019s some shared history between the teams. The M\u2019s were the first visitors to Comerica Park, back on a wintry day \u2014 in the way only mid-April can be in Detroit \u2014 back in 2000.<\/p>\n The Tigers won that one, 5-2, despite M\u2019s catcher Dan Wilson going 3-for-4. Future Tiger Freddy Garcia giving up five runs in six innings probably helped Detroit\u2019s cause a bit. Also in the lineup for Seattle: future Tiger Carlos Guill\u00e9n \u2014 not to be confused with the Tigers\u2019 current translator \u2014 and Mike Cameron, father of future Tiger Daz Cameron, just in case you weren\u2019t feeling old enough.<\/p>\n SHAWN WINDSOR: Tigers triumph in Cleveland should boost chances in ALDS in Seattle<\/a><\/p>\n Fast forward a bit, and Wilson is the Mariners\u2019 manager, and the Tigers have the overall edge in the series, 234-215 (with one tie). Along the way, 66 players have suited up for both the Tigers and Mariners \u2014 everyone from Tigers great Willie Horton to Mariners great \u2026 uhhh (did we mention Carlos Guill\u00e9n?) to, this season, Eugenio Su\u00e1rez for the M\u2019s and Paul Sewald and Will Vest for the Tigers.<\/p>\n Those three could play a big part in the best-of-five ALDS that starts Saturday (8:38 p.m., FS1) in Seattle. Let\u2019s take a look at how the teams stack up, position by position, with a spot in the ALCS \u2014 somewhere the Tigers haven\u2019t been since 2013 and the Mariners haven\u2019t been since 2001 \u2014 on the line.<\/p>\n C: Dillon Dingler vs. Cal Raleigh<\/p>\n It\u2019s a Dingler vs. a Dumper in a matchup that sounds dirtier than it is, though both have filthy fielding skills (Dingler finished second in the AL in caught-stealing percentage 31.7% this year; Raleigh finished third in the AL last year) and could be Gold Glove finalists. At the plate, the Tigers catcher had a breakout season, hitting .278 with 13 homers \u2014 though only one came in September. (On the bright side, Dingler walked three times in three games against the Guardians \u2014 more than he did in March and April combined. Progress!) But the M\u2019s catcher, aka \u201cBig Dumper,\u201d had a monster season in which his All-Star Home Run Derby win is merely an afterthought \u2014 after Raleigh pounded 54 homers in Atlanta to become the first catcher with a Derby title, he launched 22 second-half regular-season dingers to become the fourth AL player with 60 homers in a season. Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n 1B: Spencer Torkelson vs. Josh Naylor<\/p>\n Just nine of Torkelson\u2019s 31 homers came after July 24. That\u2019s the same amount Naylor the Elder \u2014 the Tigers just vanquished Naylor the Younger along with the Guardians \u2014 hit after joining the M\u2019s that day. Of course, Naylor the Elder (or \u201cthe Mississauga Masher,\u201d to his fellow Canadians) also has 19 steals (and zero caught-stealings) as a Mariner, bringing him to 20 homers and 30 steals this season. Naylor the Elder is also just the 20th first baseman in MLB history with a 20-homer, 20-steal \u2026 but just the fourth to play in the American League in said season. (The \u201cfourth American Leaguer\u201d thing will not be a recurring thing, we promise.) Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n 2B Gleyber Torres vs. Jorge Polanco<\/p>\n Both these fellas struggled to get paid in the free agent market, with Torres settling for a one-year deal in hopes of earning a $100 million contract this offseason, while Polanco took a $3.5 million pay cut to re-sign in Seattle. Torres went on to make the AL All-Star team, but since the start of September, he\u2019s been one of the AL\u2019s worst-hitting second basemen, with a .209 average, two homers and 10 RBIs in the final month. Polanco, though? Merely the AL\u2019s best-hitting second baseman over that span, with a .329\/.380\/.634 slash line. Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n 3B: Zach McKinstry vs. Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/p>\n If Colt Keith is healthy and ready to return for the Tigers<\/a>, this matchup gets closer \u2026 but it still goes to an ex-Tigers prospect-turned-50-homer slugger in Su\u00e1rez (though he only had 49 this year with the M\u2019s and Arizona Diamondbacks). A Tigers trade target in July, Su\u00e1rez returned to Seattle (where he spent the 2022-23 seasons) at the deadline; in September, he posted a .700 OPS the hard way \u2014 .250 on-base, .450 slugging \u2014 so even when he\u2019s struggling, there\u2019s power there. McKinstry, meanwhile, outperformed Su\u00e1rez last month with a .714 OPS \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t particularly scenic, either: .288\/.426. Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n Celebrate the Tigers’ 125 epic seasons with our new book!<\/a><\/p>\n SS: Javier B\u00e1ez vs. J.P. Crawford<\/p>\n We compared him to Wile E. Coyote, plummeting to the bottom of a canyon, in our last scouting report. He responded by going 5-for-13 against the Guardians in arguably the Tigers\u2019 Most Valuable Performance at the place. (We\u2019re legally and spiritually banned from picking an M.V.P. in a three-game series.) He also still did not walk, bringing his total of walks since his All-Star Game start to \u2026 one. To be fair, Crawford also did not draw a walk this week. He didn\u2019t play a game, with the M\u2019s getting a first-round bye, but that seems like nitpicking after he crushed an .822 OPS in September. Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n [ NEW TIGERS NEWSLETTER! Sign up for The Purr-fect Game, a weekly dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers, here<\/a>. ]\u00a0<\/p>\n LF: Riley Greene vs. Randy Arozarena<\/p>\n Greene made the AL All-Star team while hitting .258 with 36 home runs, 111 RBIs and 201 strikeouts \u2014 becoming the first Tiger with more than 200 strikeouts. Arozarena made the AL All-Star team while hitting .238 with 27 home runs, 76 RBIs and 191 strikeouts \u2014 becoming the fourth \u2026 Mariner with more than 190 strikeouts. (He also stole 31 bases while getting caught just six times, but that\u2019s more of a note for Dillon Dingler.) Edge: Tigers (barely).<\/p>\n CF: Parker Meadows vs. Julio Rodr\u00edguez<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez had 18 homers and 13 steals after the All-Star break to finish with 32 and 30, respectively \u2014 making him the second player in MLB history with two 30-30 seasons before turning 25. (It\u2019s also his fourth 20-20 season in four tries \u2026 the fourth American Leaguer with that many at that age.) Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n RF: Wenceel P\u00e9rez vs. Victor Robles<\/p>\n The M\u2019s trotted out a new right fielder in Wednesday\u2019s public intrasquad scrimmage, but we\u2019re pretty sure he won\u2019t be suiting up in the ALDS: Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki manned the outfield<\/a>, though he didn\u2019t take any at-bats. Those should go to Robles, who was feeling good enough to dominate the Salmon Race<\/a> after going 0-for-9 in his final four games of the regular season. P\u00e9rez, meanwhile, has the edge in pretty much every statistical category, trailing only in bats thrown at opposing pitchers<\/a>. Edge: Tigers.<\/p>\n DH: Kerry Carpenter vs. Dominic Canzone<\/p>\n Canzone, who\u2019ll be 28 years and 48 days old on Saturday, was a teammate of Dillon Dingler\u2019s at Ohio State in 2018 and 2019 and posted a .308\/.355\/.524 slash line (with 10 homers) in 201 plate appearances against right-handers this season. Carpenter, who\u2019ll be 28 years and 32 days old on Saturday, is a teammate of Dingler\u2019s this season and posted a .257\/.300\/.512 slash line (with 23 homers) in 401 plate appearances against righties this season. Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n Bench<\/p>\n Nobody went to their bench more often than the Tigers, who got a .723 OPS \u2014 fifth in the AL out of their league-leading 210 plate appearances by pinch hitters. The Mariners came in fourth in pinch-hit PAs (168) but only ninth in OPS (.567). Still, watch out for backup catcher Mitch Garver, who feasted on the Tigers in his days with the Minnesota Twins. Edge: Tigers.<\/p>\n Rotation<\/p>\n To paraphrase one notable Woo<\/a>: To be the man, you\u2019ve gotta beat the man, and if the Tigers can get the series to five games, they get to pitch Seattle University alumnus Tarik Skubal \u2014 pretty much the man on the mound over the past 2\u00bd years \u2014 twice (in Seattle, no less). How Casey Mize fared in a likely Game 3 start might be the key to getting to Game 5; the M\u2019s went scoreless with one hit over 5\u2154 \u00a0innings against him in April, and scored six runs on six hits against him in July.<\/p>\n As for another notable Woo, the M\u2019s are being pretty tight-lipped about their plans for All-Star ace Bryan Woo (who missed the Tigers entirely this year but blanked them in seven innings in 2024) as he recovers from a strained pectoral muscle suffered Sept. 19 (leading to the classic call-and-response: Woo? Pec!<\/a>) Then again, having right-hander Logan Gilbert, who has 19 strikeouts against the Tigers in 10\u2153 innings this season, is a pretty good fallback plan. Edge: Even.<\/p>\n Bullpen<\/p>\n With five runs in the final four innings Thursday, the Tigers knocked out arguably the best bullpen in the American League. Their reward? The second-best bullpen, at least in terms of giving up walks and home runs over the final two months of the regular season; M\u2019s relievers, led by All-Star closer Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz, posted a 3.57 FIP from Aug. 1 on, behind only Cleveland\u2019s 2.89. Tigers relievers over the same span? 4.62, second-worst in the AL. Edge: Mariners.<\/p>\n Manager: A.J. Hinch vs. Dan Wilson<\/p>\n A.J. Hinch is coming off a third-place finish in the Manager of the Year and seems likely to draw votes again, though, September collapse yadda yadda yadda. Dan Wilson, meanwhile, is in his first full season as a manager \u2014 after going 21-13 last season \u2014 and really hasn\u2019t been talked up that much, despite a career .566 winning percentage that ranks No. 1 among all Mariners managers. (Then again, that may be more of a reflection of the franchise\u2019s sorry history<\/a>.) Edge: Tigers.<\/p>\n Prediction<\/p>\n Just counting the categories, we get the Mariners with an 8-4 edge (with one tie) \u2014 which seems about what you\u2019d expect from the AL\u2019s No. 2 seed vs. the No. 6 seed. Then again, the teams finished just three wins apart, with the Mariners\u2019 plus -72 run differential just edging the Tigers\u2019 plus-67.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019t be a grand slam in Game 5. We think. The pick: Mariners in 5.<\/p>\n Ryan Ford is deputy sports editor for the Free Press and has been with Freep Sports since January 2006. Contact him at\u00a0rford@freepress.com<\/a>\u00a0or follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y\u2019know?)\u00a0@theford<\/a>\u00a0and on BlueSky at\u00a0@theford.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n