Tigers oust Guardians in A.L. Wild Card, face Mariners in ALDS

For the second straight season, the Detroit Tigers are headed to the American League Divisional Series after (finally) getting over the Cleveland Guardians hump in the A.L. Wild Card Round.

The best-of-three first round series at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland saw Tarik Skubal dominate the Guardians in Game 1 as the Tigers prevailed by a 2-1 final to grab an early 1-0 series lead:

Game 2 went the way of the Guardians as a 1-1 tie saw the home team explode offensively for a five-run bottom of the eighth inning en route to a 6-1 victory to even the series at 1-1.

The Tigers left a lot on the basepaths, and the only highlight came from Javy Baez in the top of the fourth inning:

The winner-take-all Game 3 saw another close, low-scoring ballgame that went into the latter stages tied at 1-1 before the Tiger bats had their big moment when they needed it most in the sixth and seventh innings:

Ultimately, the deficit was too much for the Guardians to overcome:

The Tigers now set their sights on the best-of-five Divisional Round against the Seattle Mariners, who had a first-round bye.

Below is the series schedule that begins this weekend in the Emerald City:

• GAME #1 – Saturday, October 4th – 8:38 pm (T-Mobile Park)
• GAME #2 – Sunday, October 5th – 8:03 pm (T-Mobile Park)
• GAME #3 – Tuesday, October 7th – 4:08 pm (Comerica Park)
• GAME #4 – Wednesday, October 8th – 3:08 pm (Comerica Park) *IF NECESSARY*
• GAME #5 – Friday, October 10th – 4:40 pm (T-Mobile Park) *IF NECESSARY*