When they opened their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers were hoping to put some distance between themselves and their American League Central rivals in the race for the division title. Instead, they allowed Cleveland to cut another game off of their lead.
The Guardians (79-71) defeated the Tigers (85-66), 7-5, in 10 innings on Tuesday in the first game of a series that would have allowed Detroit to lock up the division title with a sweep. With the Tigers showing signs of slumping at the worst possible time, their winning the AL Central crown suddenly doesn't feel as inevitable as it did just a few weeks ago.