DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers settled for a wildcard spot and will go to Cleveland to play the Guardians in the first round of the playoffs.
Detroit held a brief 3-1 lead over Boston early in Sunday’s season finale, but starter Chris Paddack got lit up in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the offense was lifeless other than a Javier Baez three-run homer.
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The Tigers wasted a golden opportunity handed to them by the Texas Rangers, who took a game from the Guardians in Cleveland and currently hold a 5-4 lead in the rubber match.
If the Tigers had won Sunday and the Guardians had lost, the Tigers would have won the AL Central and hosted the wildcard round at Comerica Park.
Instead, the Tigers finished the regular season with an 87-75 record, having lost 13 of their last 16 games.
Cleveland won the AL Central in large part thanks to five head-to-head wins over the Tigers in six meetings over the final two weeks.
It’s an underwhelming result for the Tigers, who spent most of the season competing for the top record in the league.
Instead of a first-round bye or a home playoff series, the Tigers will now head to Cleveland for the wildcard round, which begins Tuesday and will feature Tarik Skubal vs. Gavin Williams -- a matchup the Tigers just lost exactly one week prior.
The winner of the best-of-three Tigers-Guardians series will advance to play the second-seeded Seattle Mariners in the ALDS. Meanwhile, the winner of the Yankees-Red Sox wildcard round will face the No. 1-seeded Blue Jays.
Here’s the playoff schedule for the Tigers:
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 30 @ Cleveland -- 1:08 p.m.
- Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 1 @ Cleveland -- 1:08 p.m.
- Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 2 @ Cleveland -- 1:08 p.m. (if necessary)