Guardians vs Tigers Recap: Guardians Clinch 3-1 Win

The Guardians came to town riding a six-game win streak. They'd just beaten the Tigers 3-2 the night before in ten innings. Now Cleveland wanted to keep rolling at Comerica Park. Detroit was struggling—they'd lost six straight games and sat at 20-31. The Guardians had something the Tigers needed: a hot offense and shutdown pitching. Joey Cantillo took the mound for Cleveland and looked sharp right away. In the third inning, Brayan Rocchio led things off with a single. Then Daniel Schneemann stepped up and ripped a double to right field. Rocchio flew around the bases and scored the first run. Moments later, Jose Ramirez singled to left. Schneemann raced home. Just like that, Cleveland led 2-0. The Guardians' bats had woken up early.

Both teams went quiet for a few innings. The pitching battle stayed tight. Then the eighth inning came and everything changed. Patrick Bailey stepped up to face Burch Smith. Smith wound up and threw a fast four-seam fastball at 92 miles per hour. Bailey connected hard. The ball rocketed to right center field and sailed 407 feet. It crashed over the wall. Bailey punched his fist as he rounded the bases. Cleveland led 3-0. But Detroit didn't quit. Dillon Dingler came to bat for the Tigers. He faced Tim Herrin and worked the count. Herrin threw an 85-mile-per-hour slider. Dingler hit it like he meant it. The ball flew 371 feet to left center. It cleared the wall. Dingler had his moment. Detroit cut it to 3-1. The game was still alive.

Joey Cantillo stayed strong on the mound for Cleveland. He pitched 5 and two-thirds innings with no runs allowed and six strikeouts. His pitching was exactly what the Guardians needed. The Detroit bats couldn't catch up. The Tigers got one run from Dingler but couldn't string together hits. Cleveland's bullpen came in and locked things down. Matt Festa, Shawn Armstrong, Codi Heuer, and Hunter Gaddis all threw. Nobody scored again. The final score was Cleveland 3, Detroit 1. The Guardians improved to 30-22. Their win streak stretched to seven games. Detroit fell to 20-31 and their losing streak grew to seven. This game showed the gap between the teams. Cleveland's pitching dominated. Their offense struck fast. Detroit fought back with Dingler's homer but couldn't do enough.