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Guardians turn to Tanner Bibee and his MLB playoff experience to start Game 2 vs. Tigers
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- Guardians turn to Tanner Bibee and his MLB playoff experience to start Game 2 vs. Tigers
Editor's note: Follow Guardians vs. Tigers live updates and highlights from Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series .
CLEVELAND — Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee has MLB playoff lessons under his belt, and he's planning to use a specific one Oct. 1 when he starts Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field.
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Bibee revealed he'll have advice from former Guardians ace Shane Bieber on his mind as he enters a showdown with the Tigers, who will start Casey Mize opposite Bibee.
"One thing that [Bieber] said to me last year before the start, 'Don't give them too much credit because you earned your way here as well,'" Bibee said Sept. 30 shortly before Game 1 . "I think that's the one thing.
"Obviously, there's a lot of nerves going into your first postseason game. I'd say it's different, but it's not. We faced these guys for the past two weeks, and we played some good baseball. We earned our way here just as much as they did. So don't give them too much credit is pretty much the thing that he told me."
Game 1 of AL Wild Card Series: Guardians vs. Tigers score, lineups, highlights and recap
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It's a reference Bibee can use to remind himself to avoid letting the moment become too big.
"Anytime you make the postseason, no matter what, your team is going to be excited, and they're going to be ready to go," Bibee, 26, said. "The energy is going to be there. The crowd is going to bring the energy as well. These are some of the easier games to play, just because there's so much energy, so much adrenaline.
"With all the adrenaline comes [the need for] a degree of self-control. I feel like getting too fired up can be your enemy, but there's obviously always a happy medium of your stuff's a little better, a little harder. But if you can find the happy medium, it's a good little thing."
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Tanner Bibee stats
The right-handed Bibee made four starts in last year's playoffs, going 0-1 and allowing seven runs, 19 hits and four walks in 15⅔ innings. He posted a 3.45 ERA and struck out 16.
This season, Bibee is 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA, 162 strikeouts, 54 walks and a 1.23 WHIP in 182⅓ innings. Bibee has gone 3-0 in three starts against the Tigers in 2025, allowing two runs, 12 hits and five walks and striking out 21 in 19 innings.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com . On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tanner Bibee starting Game 2 for Guardians vs Tigers
