Tigers make obscure history in shutout victory over Guardians

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Keider Montero. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tigers make obscure history in shutout victory over Guardians

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Aug 13, 2026 4:34 PM ET

Despite trading away two of their best players ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball.

Detroit continued its winning ways on Thursday with a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians. In the process, the Tigers pitching staff accomplished a feat that hadn't been done in the majors since 2014.

Tigers pitchers did not record a single strikeout

Detroit used three pitchers (Keider Montero, Tyler Holton, Kenley Jansen) in Thursday's win. Those three combined for a complete game shutout with just one walk and a grand total of zero strikeouts.

That's right, the Tigers pitchers did not record a single strikeout in the entire game. It is the first time since 2014 that a team has allowed zero runs in a game while also recording zero strikeouts.

THE TIGERS

They’re the first MLB team to throw a shutout without striking out a batter since… 7/1/14, when they did so

Just the ninth such game in the wild card era
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 13, 2026

Detroit holds a postseason spot for now

Thursday's win moved the Tigers to 60-61 this season and put them in a tie with the Texas Rangers for the third AL wild-card spot.

It has been both a remarkable and unlikely run for Detroit since trading its top two starters in Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Those two trades showed that the front office believed the team was out of the playoff hunt.

Now, depending on the result of the Rangers game on Thursday night, the Tigers could possibly enter Friday with sole possession of the final AL wild-card spot after seemingly being out of the hunt just a few weeks back.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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