The Detroit Tigers, once the kings of the American League Central, now find themselves teetering on the edge of a collapse that could go down in Major League Baseball history. On September 18, 2025, the Tigers suffered a gut-wrenching 3-1 loss to the surging Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park—a defeat that capped a three-game sweep and sent shockwaves through the Tigers’ clubhouse and their fanbase.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Just a few short weeks ago, Detroit boasted an 11.5-game cushion atop the AL Central, and as recently as July, they led Cleveland by a staggering 15.5 games. Now, with only nine games remaining, that lead has shrunk to a precarious 3.5 games. The Guardians, riding a red-hot seven-game winning streak, have clawed their way back into contention, leaving the Tigers searching for answers and fighting to avoid an epic late-season collapse.
Thursday’s contest had all the makings of a classic pitcher’s duel. Tarik Skubal, Detroit’s ace and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, returned to the mound after a brief injury scare. He delivered exactly what the Tigers needed: six gritty innings, allowing just one run on seven hits, walking two, and striking out nine. With his performance, Skubal set a new personal best, reaching 233 strikeouts for the season. But even that wasn’t enough to halt Detroit’s downward spiral.
“I felt good,” Skubal said after the game, his focus clearly on the team’s struggles rather than his own health. “The loss is probably more of what I’m focused on, rather than how I’m feeling.” Manager A.J. Hinch echoed the sentiment, emphasizing Skubal’s resilience: “He answered every question about his health and his competitiveness.”
The game turned in the seventh inning. With the score knotted at 1-1, rookie right-hander Troy Melton replaced Skubal on the mound. Nine pitches into his outing, Melton surrendered a tiebreaking, two-run homer to Cleveland superstar Jose Ramirez—a 368-foot shot that sent Guardians fans into a frenzy and left Tigers supporters in stunned silence. Melton ultimately took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings.
The Guardians’ offensive spark started earlier, in the fourth inning, when Jhonkensy Noel launched an 0-2 changeup from Skubal over the fence for a solo home run, tying the game. Skubal, however, bounced back, striking out Brayan Rocchio in the same inning and later unleashing a 101.5-mph fastball to punch out David Fry in the fifth. He finished his outing by striking out Nolan Jones with a 99.5-mph heater, showing that his stuff was as electric as ever.
Detroit’s offense, meanwhile, continued its frustrating trend of missed opportunities. The Tigers kicked off the second inning with three hits, including an RBI double by Colt Keith. But with two on and no outs, they failed to capitalize further. To make matters worse, Keith left the game after the inning with back stiffness, thinning an already struggling lineup. From there, the bats went silent, managing just four hits off Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, who matched Skubal’s six innings while striking out eight.
After Bibee exited, Cleveland’s bullpen—Tim Herrin, Kolby Allard, and Hunter Gaddis—slammed the door, combining for three innings of scoreless relief. Gaddis earned his third save of the season, sealing the sweep and keeping the Guardians’ playoff hopes very much alive.
“We’ve got to move on and start playing a better brand of baseball,” Skubal admitted, reflecting the urgency and frustration inside the Tigers’ clubhouse. The numbers paint a stark picture: Detroit has dropped six of its last seven and 15 of its last 22 games. Since May 31, they’re a middling 47-48, and since July 9, they’ve gone just 26-34. Their recent 7-15 skid since August 24 has turned what once looked like a coronation into a dogfight.
Manager A.J. Hinch didn’t sugarcoat the situation. “We got our ass kicked in pretty much every aspect, and they swept us,” he said. “They’re going to get another shot at us, or we’re going to get another shot at them, whichever way you want to look at it.” The teams have three more games scheduled in Cleveland from September 23 to 25—a series that could well decide the division.
The Guardians, for their part, are peaking at the perfect time. Their sweep of Detroit pushed them to a season-high ten games over .500, and they’ve now won 12 of their last 13. The defending AL Central champions are making a furious charge, reminiscent of historic comebacks like the Brooklyn Dodgers’ infamous 13-game blown lead in 1951. If the Tigers were to squander their 14-game advantage, it would set a new standard for heartbreak in MLB lore.
“At some point, we’re going to run out of games,” said reliever Tyler Holton, who tossed 1⅓ scoreless innings in Thursday’s loss. “It’s time to buckle up and strap in—because we’re in the middle of a fight.”
The playoff math is suddenly daunting. Detroit’s odds to win the AL Central have dropped from 98.5% before the sweep to 91.4%, according to FanGraphs. Their chances to make the playoffs have dipped to 96.7%, and their odds of clinching a bye to the ALDS have plummeted from 75.9% to just 43.2%. The Tigers’ magic number to clinch the division sits at seven, but with the Guardians holding a 6-4 advantage in the season series (the tiebreaker if the teams finish tied), the margin for error is razor thin.
Next up for Detroit is a daunting three-game home series against the Atlanta Braves, who are riding a five-game winning streak of their own. After that, the Tigers hit the road for three games each in Cleveland and Boston—both teams still in the thick of the playoff hunt. The path to October won’t be easy, and every game now carries the weight of the season.
Despite the mounting pressure, Skubal and his teammates are trying to keep perspective. “We’re atop the division, no?” Skubal said. “This season, we got off to a really great start, and we’re atop the division, so until that changes, I don’t really know.”
But there’s no denying the sense of urgency. As Hinch put it, “We can’t just magically go back in time and do different things or play different games or go revisit series. Everything has mattered up to this point, and everything will matter moving forward.”
With the Guardians closing fast and the schedule offering no favors, the Tigers’ fate is very much in their own hands. The next week will determine whether Detroit can steady the ship and clinch the AL Central—or if they’ll be remembered for one of the most dramatic collapses in baseball history.
