Detroit Tigers Set To Make Postseason Franchise History in 2024 ALDS
The momentum carried by the fairy tale ending to the 2024 regular season for the Detroit Tigers did not slow down in the postseason.
In a true David vs. Goliath matchup against the Houston Astros, who had individual players with more playoff experience than the entire Tigers roster, the underdogs prevailed. They won the first two games of the Wild Card Series, sweeping a team that had advanced to the ALCS seven straight years.
With that victory, Detroit will now advance to the Divisional Round, where they will face off with a familiar foe; their American League Central rivals, the Cleveland Guardians.
This is a team that the Tigers know very well. As shared by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, there isn’t a franchise in baseball that they have faced off against more times in their history. The same can be said for Cleveland, as Detroit is their more common opponent.
Despite playing against each other more than 2,300 times, history will be made when the ALDS begins. It will be the first time that they will face each other in the playoffs, with a trip to the League Championship Series on the line.
The @Tigers have played Cleveland more often than any other team.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 3, 2024
The @CleGuardians have played Detroit more often than any other team.
More than 2,300 meetings.
This is the first @MLB postseason series between them.
Great note by Marc Matcham of @MLBNetwork Research.
Who will come out ahead in an improbable playoff matchup, not many people saw coming? It could very well be a toss-up as the regular season series was very competitive.
Two of the games went to extra innings, with the Guardians winning both. Seven of them were decided by one run, with Detroit pulling out wins in only two of those contests.
Overall, the Tigers went 6-7 against the AL Central champs, going 4-3 in the first half of the season. In the second half, it was Cleveland who prevailed, winning four out of six games.
However, only one of those matchups came with likely Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on the mound for Detroit. Also, all of the games were played before the trade deadline, which is when the Tigers went nuclear with their performance on the field.
This series will get underway on Saturday, October 5th. A.J. Hinch has not yet announced a starter for his team, while Tanner Bibee will take the bump for the home team.
An off day on Sunday means all hands will be on deck for Game 1 except for Skubal, who will assuredly start Game 2 if he doesn’t start over the weekend on short rest.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.