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Guardians score, recap vs Tigers as Detroit beats up Parker Messick, avoids the sweep
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- Guardians score, recap vs Tigers as Detroit beats up Parker Messick, avoids the sweep
CLEVELAND — The Guardians go for the sweep and, for all intents and purposes, the nail in the coffin of the Detroit Tigers Thursday, Sept. 25 at Progressive Field.
The Guardians , winners of the first two games of a critical American League Central series , overtook the Tigers and enter Sept. 25 with a one-game lead, though Cleveland would also hold the tiebreaker over Detroit. With a win over the Tigers Thursday, any Guardians win or Tigers loss the rest of the way would secure the AL Central for Cleveland, thus completing the largest division comeback in baseball history . If Detroit avoids the sweep, the race for the division is again in full force.
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Follow along here for live score updates, analysis and highlights from the Sept. 25 Guardians-Tigers game at Progressive Field.
Guardians fall to the Tigers
The Tigers completed a crucial victory, beating the Guardians 4-2 Thursday night. Cleveland's magic number to win the division remains at three, and their magic number to earn a wild card spot remains at two.
Jose Ramirez becomes Cleveland franchise leader in extra-base hits
Jose Ramirez must be giving the Tigers nightmares. With two outs and Austin Hedges on second base, Ramirez hit a double into left-center field that cut the Detroit lead to 4-2. Kyle Finnegan then struck out Kyle Manzardo to end the inning.
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With that double, no player in Cleveland franchise history has more extra-base hits than Ramirez's 726.
Guardians trail Tigers entering 8th inning
The Tigers will take a 4-1 lead into the top of the eighth inning.
Detroit has used four pitchers thus far to keep Cleveland's lineup off balance, including Troy Melton (3 2/3 innings), Brant Hurter (1 1/3), Tommy Kahnle (1 1/3) and Tyler Holton (2/3 of an inning).
Parker Messick left the game after tossing five innings and allowing four earned runs while striking out seven. Matt Festa and Tim Herrin each tossed a scoreless inning to get to the eighth.
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Parker Messick escapes bases-loaded jam vs Tigers
The Tigers nearly broke the game open in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs for Riley Greene , who homered off Messick in his previous at-bat. Greene worked to a full count, allowing the runners to be on the move, before Messick struck him out with a ball in the dirt to preserve the 4-1 score.
Sep 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene (31) celebrates his solo home run in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Riley Greene crushes home run off Parker Messick
The Tigers continue to hit Parker Messick hard. Riley Greene launched a solo home run to right field, extending Detroit's to 4-1.
The run of terrific starts by a Guardians pitcher seems to have ended.
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Guardians, Tigers update: C.J. Kayfus drives in a run
With Gabriel Arias on second base, C.J. Kayfus ripped a double to right field to cut into Detroit's lead and make it 3-1 in the bottom of the second inning.
The Tigers are utilizing a bullpen game tonight, so there will be a number of pitching changes.
Sep 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias (13) throws the ball to the infield in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Javy Baez RBI single extends Tigers lead over Guardians
The Tigers added on in the top of the second inning. Dillon Dingler doubled to right field, and Javy Baez drove him in with an RBI single, also to right field, to put Detroit up 3-0.
Officially, Messick is the first Guardians starter to allow more than two earned runs in 20 games.
Sep 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick (77) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Guardians, Tigers score: Jahmani Jones, Wenceel Perez both hit home runs off Parker Messick
The Tigers jumped all over Parker Messick in the first inning.
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Jahmani Jones led off the game with a home run, and two batters later, Wenceel Perez added a solo shot of his own, both over the left-field wall.
The Tigers have a quick 2-0 lead. And Parker Messick is in danger of becoming the first Guardians starter to allow more than two earned runs in Cleveland's last 20 games. The Guardians have a chance to tie the major league record in that category tonight.
Below is some pregame information.
Guardians lineup vs Tigers
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Steven Kwan , LF
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George Valera , DH
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Jose Ramirez, 3B
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Kyle Manzardo, 1B
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Gabriel Arias, SS
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Angel Martinez, CF
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C.J. Kayfus, RF
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Brayan Rocchio , 2B
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Austin Hedges, C
Guardians playoff tickets
If the Guardians do punch their ticket to the playoffs, information on tickets for postseason games can be found here .
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AL Central Division standings
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Guardians – 86-72 ... --
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Tigers – 85-73 ..... 1
AL wild card standings
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Note: Records are before the start of play. Thursday, Sept. 25.
Guardians vs. Tigers games this season
The Guardians lead the season series 8-4. The Guardians and Tigers met in Motown a week ago, with Cleveland sweeping Detroit — 7-5 in 10 innings Sept. 16 and 4-0 Sept. 17 and 3-1 Sept. 18. The Tigers swept the Guardians in Cleveland, July 4-6, leaving town with a lead of 15.5 games over the Guardians in the AL Central.
Cleveland Guardians game schedule for the rest of the 2025 MLB season
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Friday, Sept. 26: vs. Texas Rangers , 7:10 p.m.
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Saturday, Sept. 27: vs. Texas Rangers, 7:15 p.m.
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Sunday, Sept. 28: vs. Texas Rangers, 3:10 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians score today vs Detroit Tigers highlights, updates
