DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are flirting with one of the most epic collapses in MLB history after they got run out of their own ballpark this week against Cleveland.
The Guardians, who once trailed the Tigers by 15.5 games in July, have narrowed that lead to 3.5. Detroit has nine games left, and Cleveland has 10.
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Coming into this week, the Tigers had a chance to clinch the AL Central title with a sweep of the Guardians. Instead, they were the ones who couldn’t muster a single win.
Will Vest imploded in extra innings to blow the first game on Tuesday after Kerry Carpenter delivered a game-tying homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
The bats never gave the Tigers a chance in Wednesday’s game, as Gavin Williams had them flailing at pitches way outside the strike zone (and Javier Baez didn’t even start).
And even another Tarik Skubal gem wasn’t enough on Thursday, as the Tigers wasted his six-inning, one-run effort by scoring just one run themselves.
With a three-game series in Cleveland next week, the Guardians have a prime opportunity to haunt the Tigers once again.
It’s difficult to point to any one collapse as the “worst in MLB history,” because it depends on your definition of a collapse.
Many teams have blown similar leads late in the season. But the Tigers’ 14-game division lead (and 15.5 games over Cleveland) appears to be larger than any lead ever blown in MLB’s long history.
The Brooklyn Dodgers blew a 13-game lead in 1951. That might be the closest example.
Now the Tigers welcome the Atlanta Braves to Comerica Park for the final three home games of the season. The Braves have won five in a row, so it won’t be an easy task for the Tigers.
Next week, the Tigers have six road games to finish out the season -- three in Cleveland and three in Boston. Both of those teams are fighting for their playoff lives.
It would have sounded ludicrous to say a few weeks ago, but now the possibility is very real:
The Tigers might actually miss the playoffs.