Every spring, I glance at the final week of the Major League Baseball schedule with the hope that we’ll get to wrap up the season with a handful of head-to-head matchups that will determine playoff spots or even, hopefully, a division title. This year, there was hope with series like Orioles-Yankees, Tigers-Red Sox, Rays-Blue Jays, Diamondbacks-Padres, Reds-Brewers, Dodgers-Mariners, Rangers-Guardians and Cardinals-Cubs.Â
It’s possible none of those games matter. Maybe one or two will. At least two teams stick out, though, and we can also examine a penultimate series to find a gem of a head-to-head.Â
Hello, American League Central.Â
From Tuesday through Thursday, the Tigers visit the Guardians in Cleveland. There may be seven days left in the regular season, but this has all the juice of a playoff series with the Tigers clinging to a one-game lead. This was the biggest blowout divisional race through most of the first half of the season and now it’s the most hotly contested.Â
How did we get here? Well, it’s been a combination of great from the Guardians and bad from the Tigers.Â
The Tigers had a 14-game lead on July 8. They had an 11 ½-game lead on Aug. 23. They had a 10-game lead on Sept. 3. It was 6 ½ just one week ago!Â
Though there were obviously a few bad stretches early and some good stretches late, it seems like July 8 was the dividing line here for the Tigers. They were 59-34 at the time. The Twins, believe it or not, were in second place and you’ll have to scroll a long time to find them in these rankings now. The Guardians were in fourth place and 15 ½ games out. The Tigers have gone 26-37 since. The Guardians? They’ve gone 42-24.Â
The term “collapse” gets overused in situations like these, but it’s perfectly fair here. Starting 59-34 and then going 26-37 after that is absolutely a collapse. Plus, they’ve lost six in a row and nine of 10. The word “collapse” also doesn’t do the situation full justice because the Guardians have stormed back and made this a race on their own merits. The Tigers built up such a huge lead that they had the luxury of coasting to a division title unless one of the teams behind them went bonkers. The Guardians went bonkers. They deserve so much credit for this run and if they do pull it off, they might just parlay that into a deep October run (perhaps even that elusive World Series title?).Â
Now, the Tigers can also still make 2025 a special season. They have the three games in Cleveland before finishing with three in Boston. It’s a really tough week. Let’s say they go 4-2 or 5-1 and win the AL Central. They’d have a chance at a bye to the ALDS then and there’s no dominant American League team. The Tigers could well end up in the World Series. Once you get there, it’s always anyone’s game.
It has to start with a big final week, though.Â
And the downside is, gulp, missing the playoffs altogether. That would truly be the shock of the season and one of the most historic collapses in MLB history. It’s possible. It’s plausible. Some might even argue it’s likely, given how the Tigers have played lately and the tough remaining schedule. The vibes around the ballclub right now are downright wretched.
It all comes down to this week, Tigers. You can stave off becoming a punch line and give yourselves a chance to salvage this thing. What’s it going to be?
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
 |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
The Brandon Woodruff injury is pretty worrisome, given his history. At least it’s not in his surgically repaired shoulder, but it was enough for manager Pat Murphy to say he was “devastated” for Woodruff. That doesn’t sound great. | — | 95-61 |
2 |
|
The Ranger Suárez roller coaster continues. He’d been mostly dominant for five starts before a mediocre start in Dodger Stadium but then he got crushed in Arizona. They need the good version all playoffs. | — | 92-64 |
3 |
|
They’ll need to find more consistency to win the World Series, but the Dodgers have won 10 of their last 14 games. Actually, wait, maybe they don’t need to do better than that. A team could win the World Series from a wild card spot by going 13-9, as long as it’s sequenced properly. I guess the Dodgers are ready to defend their title. | 2 | 88-68 |
4 |
|
The Blue Jays were outscored 28-3 in a four-game losing streak before snapping it with a win on Sunday. Maybe they just wanted to clinch the AL East title at home? They close with six games in Rogers Centre. | 1 | 90-66 |
5 |
|
The only Yankees players to ever win three MVPs with the team? Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio. Aaron Judge is likely about to win his third. | 2 | 88-68 |
6 |
|
The Mariners had won 11 of 12. They were headed to Houston to face an Astros team that has owned the AL West for nearly a decade. And the Mariners sent a statement with a resounding sweep. The lead is now three games with six to play — all at home — and three of those come against the Rockies. Remember toward the end of “Rocky IV” when Adrian yells “you’re gonna do it!” in Rocky’s direction? Yeah, the Mariners are gonna do it. Here, “it” would be winning their first division title since 2001. | 2 | 87-69 |
7 |
|
The Cubs clinched a playoff berth and it seemed pretty obvious they were headed for the No. 4 seed regardless of what happened the rest of the way. So they went into Cincinnati and looked awful while getting swept in four games. Maybe they just hate the Mets? | 3 | 88-68 |
8 |
|
Some teams that make a late surge and end up in the playoffs fizzle. Remember the 2007 Rockies, though. They won 14 of their last 15 to squeak into the playoffs and ended up in the World Series. Just ride that wave, Guards. | 5 | 84-72 |
9 |
|
You could argue the Red Sox’s playoffs start this week. They are only safe by one game right now and they have three in Toronto before hosting what might well be a desperate Tigers team for the final three games. | 1 | 85-71 |
10 |
|
I guess that was a good sign Sunday from Michael King? He threw five scoreless innings. He did walk four, though. | 1 | 85-71 |
11 |
|
Though they definitely don’t want this to be necessary, there is a small sliver of good news for this week and it’s that Tarik Skubal is lined up to start both Tuesday and Sunday. | 5 | 85-71 |
12 |
|
One of the top seven AL teams is going to be squeezed out of the playoffs. Just on gut feel right now, the Tigers might be the pick, but I’m going with the Astros. They’ll fall out on this final road trip. | — | 84-72 |
13 |
|
The Reds are now tied with the Mets for the final NL wild card spot and have the tiebreaker. If things continue on this path, they’ll visit the Dodgers in the Wild Card Series with absolutely nothing to lose. | 5 | 80-76 |
14 |
|
Things can still be salvaged, but the Mets will need some help — and some Reds losses — from the Pirates and/or a likely unmotivated Brewers team. | — | 80-76 |
15 |
|
What clown picked Cole Ragans to win the AL Cy Young this year? Oh wait, that was me. I’m nothing if not accountable. Mea culpa. | 1 | 78-78 |
16 |
|
Man, I love a good stat-sheet filler. Corbin Carroll joined the 30-30 club on Sunday (31 homers and 30 steals), becoming the first Diamondbacks player ever to accomplish the feat. He also has 31 doubles, 17 triples, 83 RBI and 106 runs. | 1 | 79-77 |
17 |
|
Kudos to the Marlins for a late charge to keep them on the periphery of the playoff race, now having won 10 of their last 11. You know what really hurt though? Going 0-5 against the Nats from Sept. 1-9. Grab three or four of those games and the miracle would have been right within reach. | 6 | 76-80 |
18 |
|
They went into the week with a real shot not only at a playoff berth, but the AL West title. And they lost all six games. | 7 | 79-77 |
19 |
|
Discussion for the offseason: Shouldn’t the Giants build a team that runs more, given their home ballpark? They are 29th in MLB with only 66 stolen bases. | 4 | 77-79 |
20 |
|
Remember when the Cardinals used to be one of the most prolific stolen base teams in baseball? I think back to the ’80s with Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee, among others. Victor Scott II has 33 stolen bases this season. That’s the most by a Cardinals player since 2003! They haven’t had anyone get to 40 since Delino DeShields did it in 1997. | — | 76-80 |
21 |
|
Junior Caminero with 44 is only two homers away from Carlos Peña’s franchise record. | 2 | 76-80 |
22 |
|
I feel like an eight-game winning streak right now has to actually be frustrating for the fans, right? The reaction is surely, “where has this been all year?” Especially when the playoffs feel so wide open. | 3 | 73-83 |
23 |
|
They’ve actually played like a wild card contender since late May. The problem is the Orioles ruined their season before that, especially by losing 14 of 16 from May 3-20. | 1 | 73-83 |
24 |
|
The A’s have had eight previous Rookies of the Year, most recently Andrew Bailey (now the Red Sox pitching coach) in 2009. Nick Kurtz will soon snap that relative drought. | 3 | 73-83 |
25 |
|
Mike Trout has now hit 400 career home runs. The only center fielders with more are Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Mantle, Andre Dawson, Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Duke Snider. Only Mays, Griffey and Mantle got to 500. Can Trout? | 1 | 70-86 |
26 |
|
I’ve mentioned this before, but now we’re really close. The tallest player to ever lead his league in stolen bases was 6-foot-5 Elly De La Cruz last season. This time around, 6-foot-7 Oneil Cruz leads the NL with 38 steals. | 1 | 67-89 |
27 |
|
Something to watch in the final week: The single-season record for strikeouts among hitters is 223 (Mark Reynolds, 2009). James Wood has struck out 215 times with a week to go. | 1 | 64-92 |
28 |
|
I still can’t believe this team was in second place in July. They were only one game under .500 on July 12. What a farce. In some ways, it’s more embarrassing than the Rockies, who everyone knew all spring were going to be terrible. | 1 | 67-89 |
29 |
|
Luis Robert has a $20 million club option for next season with a $2 million buyout. It seems like the White Sox are going to pick it up, but shouldn’t they just let him walk? Maybe they’ll pick it up and try to trade him, but it sure seems like a divorce would be best for both parties at this point. | 1 | 58-98 |
30 |
|
The modern leaderboard for losses in a season has only seven teams above the Rockies. It seems reasonable that they can get to 117, which would tie the 1916 A’s. The only teams worse than that are the 2003 Tigers (119), 1962 Mets (120) and 2024 White Sox (121). | — | 43-113 |