Schedule: 1 p.m. ET on ESPN (Tuesday-Thursday)
Regular-Season Series: Guardians 8-5 with a +12 run differential
Matchup to Watch: José Ramírez vs. Detroit Tigers
Including last year’s ALDS, J-Ram has played in 140 games against Detroit since the beginning of 2017. And in what amounts to a bit less than a full season, he has triple-slashed .314/.396/.632 with 36 home runs, 122 RBI and 21 stolen bases. Even against the mighty Tarik Skubal, he’s 12-for-36 (.333 AVG).
If the Tigers are to have any hope of winning this, they need to stifle Ramírez for a change.
These teams crossed like two ships in the night in September, with Cleveland surging to an improbable division title with plenty of help from Detroit’s epic freefall.
While the Guardians enter the playoffs having won 19 out of 23, the Tigers fittingly blew yet another lead on Sunday for their 22nd loss in 31 games.
Does Detroit rally or does Cleveland deliver the knockout blow weeks in the making?
Prediction: Guardians in 3
Though things have gone horribly for the Tigers lately, they do still have Skubal for Game 1, who has a combined line of 28.0 IP, 2 ER, 40 K against Cleveland this season. But that probably just means Detroit blows another lead on its way out the door.