AL Central Standings: How the Guardians can capitalize on Tigers collapse this week

For some teams, the final week of the MLB season is a cruel reminder of the sport’s hypocrisy. 

 After spending the better part of six months not letting a single game rise above another, the final week becomes a mad dash to make sure the work done in the first 156 games of the season doesn’t go to waste. 

Or, in the case of the Guardians, it’s the work done in the last 50ish games. 

After being 15 1/2 games back in the American League Central at the start of July, the Guardians are now just one game back in the division after winning 15 of their last 17 games ahead of their three-game series against the Tigers this week. 

The Guardians have a chance to lock down a postseason spot this week

The easiest way for the Guardians to nab the division title is by sweeping the Tigers. If Cleveland does that, they’d take a one game-lead over the Tigers and would need just one win (or Tigers loss) over the weekend to win the division.

If the Guardians take two out of three, the two teams would be tied atop the division, so they’d need a combination of three wins and/or Tigers losses to take the crown. 

And even if the Guardians only take one game (which would result in the Tigers holding a two-game lead in the division), the Guardians would nab the tiebreaker over the Tigers, though they’d need a combination of five wins and Tigers losses to win the division. The Tigers would win the division with a sweep. 

The Guardians will go with Gavin Williams on Tuesday against Tarik Skubal, while Tanner Bibee will go against Jack Flaherty on Wednesday. Parker Messick will get the start on Thursday, though the Tigers haven’t announced a starter after they designated Charlie Morton for assignment over the weekend.

The Guardians officially announced their intentions of taking the division crown last week with their three-game sweep of the Tigers and they doubled down on that by taking three out of four from the Twins while the Tigers were swept by the Braves.

The Guardians also have a path to make the postseason through the Wild Card, though there’s a bit more to consider. They currently hold the third Wild Card spot thanks to their tiebreaker over the Astros, though Houston takes on The Athletics and Angels in their final two series of the year. 

The Red Sox are one game ahead of the Guardians in the Wild Card and they’re finishing the season against the Blue Jays (who are trying to hold off the Yankees for the American League East crown) and the Tigers, who should be fighting for their playoff lives at that point. 

Bibee and Williams combined to allow just one run over 11 innings against the Tigers last week, with the highlight being Bibee matching Skubal pitch-for-pitch on Thursday.

Even if the postseason doesn’t start until Sept. 30, every Guardians game this week is going to feel like a postseason game thanks to the stakes involved.