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Instant reactions to AL Wild Card Series Game 3 between Guardians, Tigers
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- Instant reactions to AL Wild Card Series Game 3 between Guardians, Tigers
Editor's note : Here's a recap of Guardians vs. Tigers in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series
CLEVELAND — The Guardians dropped to 2-9 in winner-take-all games in franchise history with a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Oct. 2 at Progressive Field.
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With the Game 3 defeat, the Guardians fell 2-1 in the best-of-three American League Wild Card Series against the Tigers.
The AL's No. 3 seed, the Guardians are done for the season. Meanwhile, the No. 6 seed Tigers advance to face the No. 2 seed Seattle Mariners in the best-of-five AL Division Series.
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Here are Beacon Journal sports writers Ryan Lewis and Nate Ulrich's instant reactions from Game 3:
Guardians vs Tigers: Ryan Lewis' instant Game 3 reaction
The Guardians' magic ran out. A lineup that didn't have the punch to surround Jose Ramirez wasn't going to be able to make up for a four-run rally like that. The Guardians truly had an unbelievable run through September to win the division and get to this point but, in the end, the issues with the offense were always likely to catch up with them. Cleveland's hope is that Chase DeLauter and George Valera can make an even bigger impact in 2026, possibly along with Travis Bazzana, Juan Brito and others. But give credit to Cleveland and manager Stephen Vogt that even down 6-1, and especially when it was 6-3, it still felt like they were going to come back and tie it.
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Oct 2, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) before game three of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Guardians vs Tigers: Nate Ulrich's instant Game 3 reaction
Pitching carried the Guardians to a historic 15½-game comeback and the AL Central Division title in the regular season. But pitching can run out of gas and inevitably needs adequate run support. The Tigers pounced on relievers Erik Sabrowski and Hunter Gaddis during Detroit's four-run seventh inning. Of course, the Guardians made things interesting after falling behind 6-1 because they're the epitome of a never-say-die bunch. Cleveland's two unearned runs in the eighth inning cut its deficit to 6-3 before the Tigers shut the door in the ninth inning on the Guardians and their 2025 season.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians vs Tigers instant reactions to Game 3 AL Wild Card Series
