Tigers intend to keep fighting in doubleheader vs. Guardians

This weekend will mark the Detroit Tigers' biggest test yet. If they are to extend their streak of postseason appearances to three, they need to fare well in their four-game series at the Cleveland Guardians.

The set will begin with a split doubleheader on Friday.

Tigers right-hander Keider Montero (9-8, 3.24 ERA) will start the afternoon game against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen (0-0, 3.77).

Detroit's Andrew Sears (0-1, 6.75) will work the nightcap in a battle of left-handers against Cleveland's Foster Griffin (15-4, 3.21).

"This has been a really hard stretch and very much a roller-coaster season," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "I know in the big scheme of things, there is a lot of frustration around this team, but we're not going to quit."

Cleveland (70-70) sits in the third American League wild-card position, one-half game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers and 5 1/2 games in front of Detroit (64-75).

The Tigers survived their biggest gut-check of the year on Wednesday, pulling out an 11-6 victory in 12 innings at the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota had won the previous two games by a combined 26-3 score and rallied from three down in the eighth on Wednesday.

Detroit fixture Spencer Torkelson saved the day with a two-run homer in the 12th inning, when the visitors scored five runs off Tommy Nance.

"The way the last couple of weeks have gone, we very easily could have said, ‘All right, we're done. It's not our night,'" Torkelson said. "This is one of my favorite wins in a long time because of how proud I am of the way we stayed in the fight."

Montero had alternated wins and losses since July 22, going 3-3 with a 3.29 ERA. He has made two starts against the Guardians this year after facing them for the initial time in 2025, compiling a 1-0 record and 1.53 ERA over 17 2/3 innings and three games.

Sears made his major league debut with an Aug. 23 loss at the Kansas City Royals, but this marks his first start and appearance vs. Cleveland.

The Guardians have lost four of the first six games on their 10-game homestand, dropping two of three to both the Royals and Blue Jays. After leading the Central Division for most of the first three months, Cleveland now is fighting to hang onto the last playoff position.

Guardians rookie Travis Bazzana made a splash by hitting .311 in his first month in the big leagues, leading to his All-Star selection via the players' ballot.

Much like the entire Cleveland team, Bazzana has slumped with a .204 average since June 1. He also has been shaky at second base, making two glaring mistakes in the last two games.

"When you're going through your first season and you want to be great for your teammates and you go through a stretch where it's been a little bit tough, you're going to wear it," manager Stephen Vogt said. "But we know Travis is a really good player and he's going to bounce out of it."

Bazzana is hitless in 12 at-bats this homestand and hasn't made himself available to reporters. The boo-birds have begun to surface, as his season home batting average is .212.

"We've talked about Travis a lot this year," Vogt said. "He came here with expectations and both on himself and from the outside. It's not easy."

Griffin was a surprising trade-deadline acquisition last month, coming from the Washington Nationals after making the National League All-Star team. He is 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA with Cleveland, winning three straight decisions.

In two career games against the Tigers, he is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, including a five-inning start on Aug. 12 at Detroit.

Allen has worked out of the bullpen in his last four appearances, most recently starting on July 18 with a 3 1/3-inning effort against the Pittsburgh Pirates to begin his latest stint in the majors.

He has been shelled by the Tigers in four career games, all starts, going 0-3 with a 7.00 ERA while giving up five homers in 18 innings.