Cleveland Guardians second base Brayan Rocchio (4) celebrates after batting a solo home run against Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning of Game 2 of AL wild-card series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MLB assigns new start time for Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers Game 3

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Steve Kubitza | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 9:34 AM ET

The Cleveland Guardians offense came alive late in Wednesday's thrilling Game 2 to take down the Detroit Tigers by a final of 6-1. This meant a deciding Game 3 was in order for Thursday.

An unfortunate storyline for the first two games of the series was the 1:08 pm start time. MLB decided to assign this start time with about 48 hours notice for some weekday games. Thus, both days featured late-arriving crowds and overall attendance that was smaller than it would have been for a night game. Or even one just a bit later in the afternoon.

Game 3 will be a bit better, thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers taking down the Cincinnati Reds in their Wild Card Series. That means there are three do-or-die games on Thursday, and the Guardians will now begin at 3:08 pm.

Thursday marks the second time in baseball history there will be three winner-takes-all playoff games in one day.

Tigers at Guardians (Flaherty vs. Cecconi), 3 p.m., ABC

Padres at Cubs (Darvish vs. Taillon), 5 p.m., ESPN

Red Sox at Yankees (Early vs. Schlittler), 8 p.m., ESPN
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2025

This is positive news, even if MLB didn't reveal the times until after midnight when many, fans and players alike, were asleep. That seems to be the expectation when it comes to how the league handles playoff scheduling.

These early start times are more of an issue for fans than for players. MLB players are used to traveling through time zones, playing late, playing early, or waiting to play through rain delays. The fans are the ones who have to take off work or school on short notice, and also shell out the extra money for playoff tickets.

While frustrating, Guardians fans won't be complaining about the odd start times if the team advances to the ALDS to take on the Seattle Mariners. The young, inspired group already pulled off the greatest divisional comeback in MLB history by erasing a 15.5-game Tigers lead, and can now eliminate that same Tigers team. Such a result may break the Detroit fanbase for good.

For now, the focus is on winning Game 3. Slade Cecconi will be squaring off against Jack Flaherty, and both starters will have short leashes in the elimination game. If Cecconi cannot go deep, fans should expect to see Joey Cantillo.

Cade Smith's availability is a concern after high usage Wednesday, but at this point it's hard to express any concern about this team. Unlikely heroes have been stepping up for an entire month, so all fans can do is sit back and enjoy the ride, as this has been one of the most unique seasons in franchise history.

The fun all gets underway at 3:08 pm.

This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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