Detroit Tigers Blow Too Many Opportunities, Lose to Cleveland to Tie The Series

Tigers blew too many opportunities on Wednesday

The Detroit Tigers blew one opportunity after another and stranded runners on base, resulting in a 6-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in the second game of the Wild Card playoffs.

They went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on base.

The series will be decided Thursday in Cleveland.

For the second day in a row, Tigers pitching was strong—until the 8th inning, when reliever Troy Melton gave up a home run to Brayan Rocchio, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead. Melton was eventually pulled from the game, but by the end of the inning the Tigers trailed 6-1.

In the top of the ninth, the Tigers loaded the bases but once again failed to score.

Baseball writer Lynn Henning posted on X after the game:

"Tigers confirm their best clutch offense is the … safety-squeeze bunt."

So it comes down to Thursday: Will Cleveland deliver the final humiliation to the Tigers after pushing them out of first place, or will the Tigers disappoint Guardians fans by leaving their team with another failed postseason run?

The last time the Tigers won the World Series was in 1984. The last time Cleveland won it all was in 1948.