The Tigers had a tenuous 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth against the Guardians in Game 1 of the Wild Card series. Will Vest has been outstanding in the ninth (and pretty much only the ninth), but Cleveland's best chance to at least tying the game was coming up to lead off the inning.
José Ramírez is one of the best hitters in baseball and hit .347 with a 1.030 OPS in 13 regular season games against the Tigers this year. He went 0-2 with a walk against Tarik Skubal, but that was Tarik Skubal.