CLEVELAND -- “Fight For Your Right” by the Beastie Boys rang across Progressive Field in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday, as the Guardians looked to spark a rally against the Tigers. An announced crowd of 30,942 passionately sang along during a Detroit pitching change.
That was an apt song choice, and for a moment, it began to look like the precursor to a comeback. José Ramírez’s two-out RBI double off Kyle Finnegan cut the Guardians’ deficit to two. That was as close as they got, after Finnegan struck out Kyle Manzardo to end the inning.
The Guardians lost, 4-2, to the Tigers as Detroit avoided being swept in the three-game series. Now, as the Guardians head into the final weekend of the regular season, that anthem will continue to be relevant, as they fight for their right to party.
“We’re in a really good position,” manager Stephen Vogt said after Thursday’s loss. “I couldn't be more thrilled with the way our guys played these last three days. We played a great series. Our goal is to win series; we talked about it all year long, and we won the series.
“We’ve got to do that one more time. We’ve got to win a series this weekend and see what happens.”
With three games remaining, the Guardians (86-73) and Tigers (86-73) are tied atop the American League Central. The Guardians have reason to feel good about where they stand. They control their own destiny heading into the final weekend of the season, in which they will host the Rangers at Progressive Field.
Cleveland holds the tiebreaker over Detroit after it clinched the season series between the two rivals on Tuesday. So, the Guardians will be division champs if they simply match whatever the Tigers do against the Red Sox in Boston this weekend. Cleveland’s magic number to win the division is three.
Entering Thursday, the Guardians needed a win over the Tigers and an Astros loss to the A’s to clinch a postseason spot. Houston won, 11-5, earlier in the afternoon, rendering the scenario moot. The Guardians will clinch a berth on Friday with a win and an Astros loss to the Angels.
“We're right where we want to be,” catcher Austin Hedges said. “We go win this next series, we're right where we want to be, and that's playing in October.”
If the season ended today, the Guardians would host Detroit in a three-game series at Progressive Field next week. Cleveland being in this position is a testament to Vogt and the clubhouse for the incredible turnaround they experienced this month, during a roller coaster season.
The Guardians were 68-67 entering September, and their postseason chances were 4.8 percent, according to FanGraphs. They have gone 18-6 this month, which includes wins in 17 of 19 games from Sept. 5 through Wednesday. Once 11 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central, Cleveland was alone at the top entering Thursday.
The Guardians’ postseason chances were 88.7 percent (per FanGraphs) as of Thursday night. Yes, they would have been one step closer had they finished the sweep, but the club was encouraged heading into the weekend.
“We're still right where we need to be,” starter Parker Messick said. “Obviously you want to win that game, but there's not a whole lot of frowns in here right now. Everybody's pumped at where we're at.
“The run that we've made, you can't be mad about a couple losses here and there. We have our last series going into the end of the year, and we’ve just got to take care of business.”
Messick (who recorded a 2.08 ERA over his first six career big league starts) allowed four runs on six hits and one walk over five innings. He gave up three solo home runs, to Jahmai Jones and Wenceel Pérez in the first inning and Riley Greene in the fourth.
Messick got out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the fifth by striking out Greene on an 80.6 mph curveball in the dirt.
“Felt like it was just a couple mistake pitches,” Vogt said. “I thought he battled and kept us in the game. That fifth inning could have gotten away from him, but he beared down.”
The Guardians have maintained a one-game-at-a-time mentality throughout this season, whether it be through their 10-game losing streak or this late-season surge. Nothing will change now.
“We talk about winning series,” Hedges said. “One game at a time. Obviously we wanted to win the game tonight, but we won the series. If we win every series moving forward, it'll mean we're World Series champs.”