CLEVELAND — After a hot start to their postseason run, the Cleveland Guardians are looking to keep the momentum going.
The Guardians will host the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Monday afternoon.
On the other hand, the Detroit Tigers continued their magical postseason run by advancing to the ALDS via a sweep of the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card series. They are the No. 6 seed in the American League.
What follows is everything you need to know about the Game 2 matchup:
Game info, how to watch on TV, betting line
- Time: 4:08 p.m.
- Location: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
- TV channel: TBS, TruTV
- Radio: WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7, Guardians Radio Network, WARF 1350
- Moneyline: +110 Guardians / -125 Detroit Tigers
- Run line: -1.5
- Total: Over/under 6.5
- Ceremonial first pitch: Josh Tomlin
Probable starting pitchers
- Cleveland Guardians: LHP Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.72 ERA, 46 SO)
- Detroit Tigers: LHP Tarik Skubal (18-4, 2.39 ERA, 228 SO)
ALDS schedule
- Saturday, Oct. 5: Game 1 in Cleveland, Guardians win 7-0
- Monday, Oct. 7: Game 2 in Cleveland, 4:08 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 9: Game 3, in Detroit, 3:08 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 10: Game 4 (if necessary) in Detroit
- Saturday, Oct. 12: Game 5 (if necessary) in Cleveland
Preview
The American League Central champions got off to an ideal start on Saturday, with Cleveland dominating Detroit en route to a 7-0 victory in Game 1.
Cleveland's bats were active from the jump; a three-run homer from Lane Thomas put the Guardians up 5-0 in the first inning before the Tigers managed an out. From there, Cleveland never looked back, riding great pitching from starter Tanner Bibbe and bullpen arms Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase.
The 7-0 romp gives Cleveland a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. The winner of the series will take on either the Yankees or the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.
While the Guardians chased Detroit's starting pitcher, Tyler Horton, after just four batters in their first-inning slugfest, the assignment will be tougher in Game 2. All-Star lefty Tarik Skubal is set to take the mound for the Tigers. Projected by many as a favorite in this year's AL Cy Young race alongside Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, Skubal led the AL in both strikeouts and wins during the regular season. Boasting a 2.39 regular season ERA, he's the first American League pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown since Cleveland's Shane Bieber in the shortened 2020 season.
In his one game against the Houston Astros in the wild card round, Skubal recorded a win, striking out six batters while throwing six innings.
Taking the mound for the Guardians on Monday will be 33-year-old left-hander Matthew Boyd. In a 2024 regular season shortened by injury, Boyd appeared in eight games and pitched 39.2 innings, finishing with a 2-2 record, 2.72 ERA and 46 strikeouts. Monday will mark the Tiger's first career postseason start.
Offensively this season, the Guardians have been carried by All-Star third baseman José Ramírez, who led the team in home runs (39), runs (114), hits (173) and RBIs (118). On Saturday, they got big hitting performances out of Thomas, David Fry and Steven Kwan, the latter of which came back from injury at the tail end of the regular season.
All season, the Guards have relied on baseball's best bullpen, and they certainly weren't let down on Saturday. Detroit struck out 13 times and didn't get a runner past first in the final four innings. Clase, who dazzled in the regular season with a 0.61 ERA and franchise-record 47 saves, closed out the evening, handing Detroit their most lopsided playoff defeat since Game 1 of the 1945 World Series.
“We're going to see a lot of this bullpen,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The more you look at them, hopefully, the more comfortable you get.”
While Cleveland fans will of course hope the 7-0 performance is an indication they'll run away with the series, it's worth considering that the Tigers are plenty comfortable working themselves out of tight spots this year.
On Aug. 11, Detroit was 55-63, 10 games out of the last AL wild-card spot. They finished 31-13 the rest of the way to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The Tigers' young club, came into their first postseason in 10 years with a "nothing to lose" attitude. Riding all the momentum after the Game 1 blowout, Cleveland will look to send the Tigers back to Detroit with nothing to win.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.