Tigers vs Guardians Game Recap, Highlights and Scores as Detroit Advances to ALDS

The Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Thursday night to win their American League Wild Card Series and move on to face the Seattle Mariners in the AL Division Series. Dillon Dingler’s first postseason home run and a big seventh inning led the way for Detroit.

This marks the second straight year the Tigers have won a Wild Card Series on the road. They now head to Seattle to take on the AL West champion Mariners, who hold the second seed and previously won four of six regular-season meetings against Detroit.

Tigers vs Guardians Game Recap, Highlights and Scores

The decisive game stayed close early. Detroit struck first in the third inning when Parker Meadows scored on a sharply hit grounder by Kerry Carpenter that bounced off first baseman C.J. Kayfus’s glove. Cleveland answered in the fourth, with George Valera doubling and scoring on José Ramírez’s single to right-center.

The score remained 1-1 until the sixth inning. With two outs, rookie catcher Dillon Dingler turned on a 1-1 changeup from Joey Cantillo and sent it 401 feet into the left-center bleachers for his first career postseason hit and RBI. That swing gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead and shifted momentum firmly in their favor.

Detroit then broke the game open in the seventh, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four runs. Wenceel Pérez delivered the biggest blow with a two-run single off Erik Sabrowski, bringing in Javier Báez and Parker Meadows. Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene followed with RBI hits against reliever Hunter Gaddis to push the lead to 6-1.

Cleveland tried to rally in the eighth. Brayan Rocchio and Steven Kwan scored on a missed catch error by reliever Will Vest, and José Ramírez was thrown out trying to stretch his reach into a double. That ended the comeback threat as the Guardians ran out of opportunities.

Kyle Finnegan earned the win in relief by retiring all four batters he faced. Cantillo took the loss after giving up the go-ahead homer to Dingler. The Tigers overcame a rough September, where they posted a 7-17 record, to win the Wild Card on the road and advance to the next round.

What This Means for the Tigers and Mariners

The victory sets up a best-of-five AL Division Series between the Tigers and the Seattle Mariners. Seattle, the AL West champion, had a strong regular season and previously took four of six games against Detroit. The Tigers, meanwhile, are showing resilience after a tough late-season stretch.

Detroit’s young core—Dingler, Pérez, Torkelson, and Greene—delivered under postseason pressure. The team’s pitching depth will be tested against the Mariners’ power lineup. Seattle enters rested and with home-field advantage for the first two games.

For Tigers fans, this win represents back-to-back playoff series victories after years of rebuilding. The matchup against Seattle begins Saturday, with Detroit aiming to keep its postseason momentum alive.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: Who hit the key home run for Detroit?

Dillon Dingler hit a two-out, go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to put the Tigers ahead.

Q2: How many runs did Detroit score in the seventh inning?

The Tigers scored four runs in the seventh inning, turning a close game into a comfortable lead.

Q3: Who will the Tigers face in the AL Division Series?

Detroit will play the Seattle Mariners, the AL West champions and second seed.

Q4: How did the Guardians score their runs?

José Ramírez had an RBI single in the fourth and reached on an error in the eighth that brought in two runs.

Q5: Who got the win and loss for the pitchers?

Kyle Finnegan earned the win for Detroit, while Joey Cantillo took the loss for Cleveland.