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Tigers Send Guardians Home After Offensive Breakthrough in Game 3

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Scott Roche | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 8:30 PM ET

The biggest storyline for the Detroit Tigers through the first two games of their Wild Card Series with the Cleveland Guardians was their struggles with runners in scoring position. They were 2-for-23 in the first two games, including 1-for-15 in Game 2 on Wednesday.

If the Tigers were going to eliminate their Central Division rivals in Game 3, they were going to need someone to come up with a clutch hit or two. As their season was hanging in the balance, Detroit's offense came alive against the Guardians' bullpen, going 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position in a 6-3 win.

The Tigers will head out west to play the Seattle Mariners in the American League Division Series (ALDS) beginning Saturday, and they will do so with some confidence at the plate.

Tigers Finally Come Up Clutch at the Plate

If Detroit lost Game 3 and struggled in RISP situations again, it would have been a fitting way for the season to end after their collapse at the end of the season to allow Cleveland to win the division. Instead, Kerry Carpenter got things going offensively, and everyone else followed.

Carpenter delivered an RBI double in the third inning with runners on the corners. After Dillon Dingler homered in the sixth, a four-run seventh inning broke the game open with three hits, all with runners in scoring position.

Wenceel Pérez delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded, and Spencer Torkelson drove in Carpenter with an RBI single. Riley Greene closed out the scoring by singling in Pérez from third base later in the inning.

WENCEEL PÉREZ pic.twitter.com/0CLkT0uQaP
— Tigres de Detroit (@TigresdeDetroit) October 2, 2025

Through the first two games, the numbers the Tigers were putting up with runners on base were eye-opening. In Game 2 alone, they had four straight innings where they stranded multiple runners on base, and somehow the game was tied 1-1 before a five-run bottom of the eighth for the Guardians was the difference in a 6-1 victory.

A.J. Hinch spoke about his team's struggles with runners on base after Wednesday's game, and it could not get any worse than it was through the first two games. If it did, then Detroit would be flying home instead of heading to Seattle on Thursday night. Hitting can be contagious in a lineup, and Carpenter got it going on Thursday, and others followed.

The Tigers' memories of the regular season collapse are behind them, and they find themselves in the ALDS against the Mariners. Sometimes it takes one game to turn things around, and Detroit is hoping that is the case with hitting with runners on base as they continue to play October baseball.