Guardians wild upset win over Tigers highlighted as team’s biggest win of 2025 

The Guardians played plenty of high-intensity games against the Tigers in 2025. Tanner Bibee’s electric start in May in the first matchup between the two teams. The Tigers' deflating win over the Guardians in June that was Cleveland’s 10th straight loss. 

But all of those games clearly pale in comparison to one crazy game that stands above the rest: The Guardians’ 5-2 win over the Tigers on Sept. 23 that turned the city of Cleveland into believers. 

That game got some extra attention on Wednesday when MLB.com put out a story highlighting every team’s best win of 2026, where beat reporter Tim Stebbins listed that aforementioned win as Cleveland’s biggest win of the season. 

It was a win that had it all. Gavin Williams matched Tarik Skubal pitch for pitch on the mound. A crazy go-ahead ‘Guardsball’ inning highlighted by a go-ahead groundout. And David Fry got hit in the face by a 100 mile per hour fastball from Tarik Skubal.

The win also held some huge macro ramifications on Cleveland's season, as it pushed the Guardians into first place in the American League Central after being down 15 1/2 games in the division at one point. 

Guardians big win over Tigers highlighted as team’s biggest win of 2025

The Guardians had to come from behind and take the lead in the aforementioned sixth inning, which stands out as one of the craziest innings in a season full of them for the Guardians. 

Remarkably, the Guardians didn’t hit a ball out of the infield in the inning thanks to a bunt single from Steven Kwan, sacrifice bunt from Angel Martínez (complete with a throwing error), infield single from José Ramírez, Fry’s hit by pitch, a wild pitch from Skubal and eventual RBI single from Gabriel Arias after Skubal balked Ramírez to third. 

On the pitching side, the Guardians’ staff racked up 19 strikeouts (which ties the team record for a nine inning game). After Williams racked up 10 strikeouts on the mound, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith closed the door in the late innings. 

The Guardians ended up rallying behind Fry, who underwent successful nasal surgery and is expected to be back healthy for 2026.  

The win served as the jumping off point for the Guardians’ eventual postseason berth, as Cleveland won three of its final games of the season while the Tigers dropped three of their last five games. 

While the Guardians’ season came to an end a week later at the Tigers’ hands in the Wild Card Series, none of that takes away from the magic of the Guardians’ run across the final week of the season. 

The 2025 Cleveland Guardians were a flawed team, but they were also very fun. This wild win over the Tigers personifies that theme.