The Detroit Tigers are coming off a brutal sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians, where the 15.5-game lead for the Tigers in the AL Central is now down to just 3.5 games with nine to go.
It was a disastrous series, and the Guardians now have a lot of momentum in the Central. Detroit closes out the year with three more series, including three games in Cleveland that could decide the division.
However, despite the major concerns and frustrations with the team, Tigers’ pitcher Tarik Skubal is still confident in the team. Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press shared Skubal’s confident message despite getting swept by the Guardians.
Tarik Skubal is confident in the Tigers despite the Guardians’ sweep
“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.”
While there is palpable concern surrounding the Tigers, for now, they do hold a 3.5-game lead in the division, and their magic number is seven. Any losses for the Guardians the rest of the way will be huge for the Tigers.
More importantly, the penultimate series of the 2025 season is against the Guardians. If the Tigers can win that series, the division would be all but wrapped up. It’d drop their magic number to just three, leaving no margin for error for Cleveland.
Detroit has to face the Atlanta Braves in Detroit before heading to Cleveland, while the Guardians are facing the Minnesota Twins in a four-game series in Minnesota.
If the Tigers can win the series against Atlanta, the Guardians’ chances of surpassing the Tigers wouldn’t be high. Even with all of the doom and gloom in Detroit right now, there’s reason to be optimistic about the division.
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Skubal’s point is one to keep in mind, as the Tigers still hold the AL Central lead and are in a good spot to clinch the division by season’s end. Detroit controls its destiny, and with nine games left, the Tigers aren’t in danger of losing the division yet.
Real concern and panic could begin if this upcoming Braves series goes poorly, and if the Guardians win the series over the Twins. Then, the Tigers-Guardians series in Cleveland could decide the division winner, with momentum favoring Cleveland.
However, the Tigers are in command for now, and as Skubal points out, there’s reason to be confident in this team. They’ve struggled in the second half of the year, but are still atop the Central and can still easily wrap up the division.
Even though the Tigers are only up one game over the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros for a first-round bye, those two teams face each other, and the Tigers are still more than capable of securing a bye and the Central despite this brutal sweep.
It’s too soon to panic in Detroit, and Skubal, the team’s ace, who went six strong innings during Thursday’s game, sent such a message to fans to be confident.
While they’ve struggled lately, they still have the division lead by 3.5 games with nine to go. It’s not an insurmountable lead, but one the Tigers should be able to hold onto, even amid their recent struggles.
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