The Detroit Tigers won a game on Wednesday, defeating the Minnesota Twins 11-6 in 12 innings.
But the victory was only Detroit's third in its last 14 games as the Tigers, who have qualified for the postseason one each of the last two seasons after missing out for nine straight years, have seen their playoff hopes fade away. If they want to keep their chances alive, they must capitalize on a four game series against the Cleveland Guardians, who enter the day holding the American League's third and final Wild Card spot.
That series starts Friday with a day-night doubleheader and before the first game, the Tigers announced a lineup decision with a veteran infielder.
Gleyber Torres bats leadoff and serves as designated hitter Friday against Cleveland, the lineup slot where he has produced most this season.
Game 1 of the split doubleheader opens a four-game series against the team holding the American League wild-card berth Detroit needs, with 23 games left to erase a 5 1/2-game deficit.
The card A.J. Hinch posted puts Torres first, Kevin McGonigle at third base and Hao-Yu Lee at second. Cleveland counters with left-hander Logan Allen. Torres swings from the right side and reaches base at a .367 clip.
Keider Montero (9-8, 3.24 ERA) draws the assignment for Detroit opposite Allen (0-0, 3.77 ERA), according to a series preview distributed by Reuters . Moving Torres off second base clears the position for Lee and keeps McGonigle at third. It is also a doubleheader, with two lineups to fill and young infielders to keep upright.
DETROIT TIGERS STARTING LINEUP
SP: Keider Montero (RHP) • 9-8, 3.24 ERA
September 4, 2026 • Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH • 2:10 PM EDT • Game 1 • Tigers at Guardians
#
Player
Pos
AVG
SLG
1
Gleyber Torres
DH
.262
.382
2
Kevin McGonigle
3B
.271
.410
3
Hao-Yu Lee
2B
.269
.423
4
Dillon Dingler
C
.248
.466
5
Riley Greene
LF
.269
.444
6
Ben Malgeri
RF
.244
.385
7
Spencer Torkelson
1B
.221
.409
8
Max Clark
CF
.257
.438
9
Javier Báez
SS
.253
.370
Lineups confirmed. Season stats shown (AVG / SLG).
Torres has hit .262/.367/.382 with eight home runs, 36 RBIs, 46 runs and 48 walks against 66 strikeouts over 81 games, good for a 111 OPS+ and 2.3 WAR. The 29-year-old's power dipped this year. His on-base skill did not.
Recent form has been steady rather than loud. He is 6-for-21 with three walks over his last seven games and hit .248 with three homers across his last 30, according to his player page at MLB.com .
The batting-order splits explain Friday's assignment. In 27 games hitting first, Torres has posted a .291/.376/.427 line with two home runs and 19 runs scored in 125 plate appearances. In 42 games batting second, he sits at .275/.399/.389. Drop him to third and it collapses with 11 games and a .143 average.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS STARTING LINEUP
SP: Logan Allen (LHP) • 0-0, 3.77 ERA
September 4, 2026 • Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH • 2:10 PM EDT • Game 1 • Tigers at Guardians
#
Player
Pos
AVG
SLG
1
Steven Kwan
CF
.275
.333
2
Chase DelaUter
RF
.293
.455
3
José Ramírez
DH
.241
.386
4
Jo Adell
LF
.241
.405
5
Nathaniel Lowe
1B
.254
.451
6
Angel Genao
3B
.253
.361
7
Travis Bazzana
2B
.235
.361
8
Patrick Bailey
C
.206
.332
9
Brayan Rocchio
SS
.245
.358
Lineups confirmed. Season stats shown (AVG / SLG).
The DH numbers run the other direction. Across 12 games in the role, Torres has hit .205/.368/.295 with one home run and 12 walks. At second base, across 67 games, he has hit .273/.366/.398. The walks follow him to the DH spot. The contact does not.
Cleveland is 70-70 and holds the third American League wild card by a half-game over Toronto and Texas, according to the playoff picture tracker at MLB.com . Detroit is 64-75 and 8.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. A four-game sweep would pull Detroit within 1 1/2 games of Cleveland. A Cleveland sweep would push them 9 1/2 back.
"This has been a really hard stretch and very much a roller-coaster season," Hinch said, as quoted by Reuters . "I know in the big scheme of things, there is a lot of frustration around this team, but we're not going to quit."
Gleyber David Torres was born Dec. 13, 1996, in Caracas, Venezuela, signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2013 and moved to the New York Yankees in the July 2016 Aroldis Chapman trade. He debuted April 22, 2018, made three All-Star teams and owns a .264/.340/.430 career line with 162 home runs in 1,114 games.
Torres signed a one-year, $15 million contract with Detroit in December 2024 after seven seasons in New York, according to reporting from the Detroit Free Press . He accepted the club's $22.03 million qualifying offer for 2026 and reaches free agency again this winter, according to his player profile at CBS Sports . Torres is also the first major leaguer to serve as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, according to his official website biography page .
First pitch is 2:10 p.m. ET.
Tigers Call Up 33-Year-Old MLB Veteran Before Guardians Series
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