Not too long ago, it seemed far-fetched, but now the Guardians are the frontrunners in the American League Central. After spending much of the summer trailing the Tigers, Cleveland has turned things around and now has the power to dictate its own future, thanks to a remarkable winning streak and the Tigers’ recent downturn.
As they head into the last weekend of the regular season, the Guardians are in a neck-and-neck battle with the Tigers, who sit at -215 odds, while Cleveland is at +172, hoping to avoid a historically bad collapse.
Currently, both teams share an 86-73 record, but the Guardians have the tiebreaker advantage, giving them a significant edge in this unusual race. Just a few months back, the division was headed for what seemed like a commanding lead for the Tigers.
During the All-Star break, the Tigers had a staggering 11.5-game lead over the second-place Twins and a similarly large margin over the Guardians. It’s impressive to see how quickly things can change—the Guardians have staged a comeback, having pushed the Tigers to a 15.5-game deficit back in July.
Interestingly, the Tigers were deemed 10,000-to-1 favorites to win the division at BetMGM before the second half began, while the Guardians were long shots at 150-to-1. As the season progressed, however, things took a different turn. Cleveland has gone 18-6 in September—the best in the league—while Detroit has struggled, with a dismal 6-15 record during the same period.
Over these past weeks, the Guardians have secured 12 wins out of their last 14 games. Meanwhile, the Tigers had their own streak of eight consecutive victories before falling to the Guardians in the final game of their series on Thursday.
Now, it’s a matter of destiny for both teams, with Cleveland on the verge of possibly staging one of the most remarkable comebacks in baseball history. The Tigers, on the other hand, are trying to avoid the humiliation of a spectacular seasonal collapse.
