The Guardians and Tigers are ready to take the Ohio vs. Michigan rivalry to the next level

How we got here

In the span of two months, the Guardians and Tigers found themselves on opposite ends of the trade deadline spectrum, each three wins away from advancing to the AL Championship Series..

Cleveland had just swept a brief two-game series at Comerica Park and held a 6 1/2 game lead in the AL Central Division on July 30. That day, the Tigers shipped their second-best pitcher, Jack Flaherty, to the Dodgers at the MLB Trade Deadline, signaling to many outside their clubhouse that they had packed up their belongings and were would focus on next season.

But something magical that can only happen during a 162-game baseball schedule happened in Detroit. The Tigers caught fire, going 17-11 in August and 17-8 in September to capture the final AL wild card spot. Meanwhile, after holding on to first place in the division since April 14, Cleveland survived a late August slump and finished strong, winning the 12th Central Division title in history of the franchise and earning a bye to the division series.

When the Tigers beat Houston in the wild card round earlier this week, it set up a historic clash between two clubs that have faced each other for 123 years, but have never crossed paths in the postseason.

About the Guardians

Pundits never could have predicted that the Guardians would get off to a hot start in April and lead their unheralded bullpen to a playoff berth under rookie manager Stephen Vogt. The team that started 51-26 through June 25 now enters the playoffs with the game’s best closer, Emmanuel Clase, this season’s AL saves leader (47).

Jose Ramirez, a six-time All-Star third baseman, had one of his best seasons, losing a home run and a double before becoming the first Cleveland player with 40 home runs, 40 doubles and 40 steals in a season. He led the club with 118 RBIs.

First baseman Josh Naylor set career highs with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs while earning his first All-Star nod, and Tanner Bibee took over as the club’s top starting pitcher, winning 12 matches after ace Shane Bieber lost for the season with an elbow. injury at the beginning.

But the story of the Guardians’ season was its bullpen, a relief unit that led the majors in earned run average and a host of other statistical categories while holding opponents scoreless for at least three innings on the 60 best chances in the major league.

About the Tigers

Detroit, on the other hand, has perhaps the best starting pitcher in the game, left-hander Tarik Skubal (18-5 record) and closed the regular season with undeniable momentum behind a spunky young lineup.

Key players have returned from injury, including Kerry Carpenter who has hit .286 with 10 homers since joining the club in mid-August. Parker Meadows and Riley Greene also returned to bolster Detroit’s offense. The additions of Spencer Torkelson at first base as well as Brenan Hanifee and Sean Guenther to the bullpen allowed AJ Hinch to make do until October instead of making do until 2025.

Hinch used a mix of bullpen games – where relief pitchers each take an inning or two for an entire game rather than relying on a single starter to log the majority of innings – as a way to obfuscate and keeping opponents guessing, while trusting Skubal every time. fifth day to come out and dominate the opposition. Hinch also often used the “opening” strategy, where a pitcher from the bullpen starts a game and faces about six or seven batters before giving way to a loose reliever, often a less experienced starter, who pitches about three or more innings.

The strategies paid off and Detroit put on a master class in how to effectively utilize a young bullpen, as evidenced by two thrilling wins over Houston.

It’s safe to say that no one in baseball saw this coming for either team. But here we are.

History

No major league club has faced Cleveland more than the Tigers. But Saturday’s opener marks the first-ever playoff meeting between the two teams. In fact, this will be the first time Cleveland has faced a divisional opponent in 17 postseason appearances.

Both Cleveland and Detroit have been founding members of the American League since 1901. The clubs have faced each other 2,326 times in the regular season, with Cleveland winning 1,155 and the Tigers winning 1,159. This year, the Guardians won the seasonal series by the narrowest margin, 7-6, with eight of the contests decided by three points or less.

A return to the playoffs

Cleveland is returning to the playoffs for the third time in the last five seasons and sixth time since winning a division title at Comerica Park in September 2016. This is Detroit’s first playoff appearance since 2014 after reaching the playoffs four straight times starting in 2011.

Regional rivals

Seeing the Guardians and Tigers face off in the playoffs should ignite fans’ regional passions on and off the diamond. Cleveland and Detroit are familiar foes when their NBA and NFL franchises are taken into account.

The Cavaliers have faced the Pistons four times in the NBA playoffs, going 3-1 in those matchups. Cleveland lost the Eastern Conference semifinals to Detroit in 2006, but came back strong behind a historic performance from LeBron James in Game 5 to win the East Finals in 2007. The Cavs swept the first-round matchups between both teams in 2009 and 2016.

On the other hand, the Lions dominated the Browns head to head, going 16-5 in 21 regular season meetings. Before the NFL/AFL merger, the Browns faced Detroit four times in six seasons in the NFL championship game from 1952 to 1957, losing three times. Cleveland’s only victory during that streak was a 56-10 loss in 1954 at Municipal Stadium.

Of course, on the college field, Michigan has the edge in the Ohio State-Michigan football rivalry, with a record of 61-51-6. However, despite three straight losses, Ohio State has dominated the game since 2000 with an unofficial record of 17-5.

Both sides of the fight

While the Tigers and Guardians have each had their share of Hall of Fame players over the years, it’s interesting to note those who played for both sides of the rivalry.

Current Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd spent parts of eight seasons in Detroit before signing as a free agent midway through this season with Cleveland. Boyd said after so many seasons without making the playoffs with the Tigers, he was happy his former club was in the position it was in. But the lefty knows all too well the passion that exists in the Ohio-Michigan rivalry and how a playoff series can raise the stakes.

“It’s always huge when you get to this divisional rivalry,” Boyd said. “We face people within the division very often, especially because of the proximity between Ohio and Michigan and so on. It’s a fun rivalry. I’m excited for this series and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Boyd isn’t the only player to represent both teams in the rivalry. Hall of Famers Hal Newhouser, Larry Doby and Earl Averill all played parts of their careers in Cleveland and Detroit.

Doby was traded to Cleveland from Detroit in 1959 in exchange for Tito Francona, whose son Terry would become Cleveland’s all-time winningest manager.

Perhaps the most notable player on both sides was Rocky Colavito, who played for eight seasons in Cleveland before being traded to Detroit in 1960, where he stayed for four years, including two All-Star campaigns.

More recently, players such as Rajai Davis, Andrew Miller, Victor Martinez, Juan Gonzalez, John McDonald, Travis Fryman and Sean Casey have lined up for both sides of the rivalry.

Quotable Vogt

Reporters asked Stephen Vogt on Thursday for a historical perspective on Cleveland and Detroit ultimately meeting in the playoffs. Vogt said thinking about the show in that regard was really fun.

“It’s the little things that are so beautiful about baseball,” Vogt said. “How you can play in the same league for a hundred years and never meet in the playoffs, and then you finally do. And in a year where we competed very evenly, it’s going to be a lot of fun. I love the game and I love the story, so it will be a fun weekend.