MLB Playoffs: Tigers vs Guardians AL Wild Card Pick — Detroit Can Recover From Its Collapse

• The Tigers-Guardians MLB Wild Card matchup features two AL Central teams who battled down the wire for the division title
• Detroit (87-75) led Cleveland by 10 games on Sep. 6, only to blow their lead and the division title in three weeks
• Cleveland sold at the deadline and had all but conceded the division and a playoff spot, but had a scorching hot September to stun the Tigers and baseball
• Detroit’s collapse is now forgotten, despite not winning the division; they made the playoffs
• Cleveland won 8 of the 13 matchups this season, but won 5 of 6 in September

Will the Tigers Be Relieved or Intimidated?

A collapse is forgotten as long as the team that collapsed makes the playoffs one way or the other. There is no doubt the Tigers’ fall from the top of the AL Central was a collapse, but they still managed to squeak into the postseason as a Wild Card at the expense of the Astros, who had a collapse of their own.

Now, they will either be calm knowing they won’t go down in the annals of baseball history as the authors of one of the worst stumbles ever, or they will look across the field at the Guardians team that caught and passed them and think they can’t beat them.

The Tigers have something the Guardians don’t: A true ace at the front of their rotation.

With Tarik Skubal a top contender to win his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award, Detroit walks into the series with an advantage.

The Tigers are a feast or famine team that can be shaky defensively. They hit a lot of home runs, but also strike out a lot. Riley Greene led the AL with 201 K’s, but did hit 36 home runs. They’re a station-to-station team that only scores if they hit the ball out of the park.

If they don’t win Skubal’s start, they’ll need to trust Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty to step up and save them.

The Guardians Are a Sum of Their Parts

Cleveland all but gave up at the trade deadline, trading away Shane Bieber and Paul Sewald. One month later, they released veteran first baseman Carlos Santana. Had they an inkling they were going to storm into postseason contention, let alone win the division, they would not have done any of that.

But they used their speed, defense, adherence to fundamentals, and the brilliance of MLB’s most unheralded star, Jose Ramirez, to win the AL Central. They will host the Wild Card Series.

Cleveland methodically chops away at their opponents with other underappreciated talents like Steven Kwan. As a team, they do not hit for a high batting average, nor do they get on base at a high clip. They have limited power. For months, they have been without starting pitcher Luis Ortiz and star closer Emmanuel Clase in gambling investigations.

But they somehow kept winning through adhering to the basics and playing as a team.

Can Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams hold the Tigers’ bashers down? Replacement closer Cade Smith has struck out 104 batters in 73.2 innings, a far better clip than Clase.

The Guardians are a team with nothing to lose since they weren’t expecting to be here at all.

Tigers vs Guardians MLB Wild Card Pick

Detroit gets a welcome clean slate after plummeting from the heights of being labeled by some as the best team in baseball at midseason. But will they recover in time to beat their tormentors, the Guardians?

The key to the series is Game 1. If Skubal can hold down Cleveland, then all Detroit needs to do is win one of the other two possible games in the series. If not, they could be bounced in a continuation of their horrific play throughout September.

The Guardians will continue their dominance of the Tigers and win their Wild Card Series.