The Cleveland Guardians and the host Detroit Tigers will decide who wins the season series in their final matchup of the year on Tuesday afternoon.
The American League Central rivals have split the first 12 games. Cleveland, which leads the division and owns the best mark in the AL, knotted the series with an 8-4 victory at Detroit on Monday.
Jose Ramirez led the way with two homers and an RBI double. Both homers came off left-hander Bryan Sammons, who was making his major league debut.
“It’s incredible what Jose does every night,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Getting a chance to watch him play every day for the first time is special. He got us going with the double, and he continues to amaze me on a nightly basis.”
Detroit catcher Dillon Dingler also debuted and had an RBI double in three at-bats. A spot opened up for Dingler on Sunday when the Tigers dealt Carson Kelly to Texas.
“He’ll remember his first hit,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of Dingler. “We all do, but he’s very mature, he’s very under control. He’s been waiting for this day for a really long time. He’s just really comfortable around the staff.”
Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams (0-3, 4.50 ERA) will start against Detroit for the third time this month and the second time in less than a week. He pitched six innings against the Tigers on Thursday, giving up three runs, six hits and two walks while recording nine strikeouts.
The runs came on one swing — Javier Baez blasted a three-run homer in the second inning for a 3-0 Detroit win.
“It was a bad pitch,” Williams said. “It was literally right down the middle. Can’t do anything about that.”
Otherwise, Williams had a strong outing. He threw a career-high 105 pitches, with the slider usually working well.
“This was the best Gavin’s slider has looked all year,” Vogt said. “He found it after the long (second) inning, but really he was pounding the zone with his fastball, which is what set everything up. He found the slider, which was really good.”
Williams, who is in his second season, tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Tigers on July 8. He also faced Detroit once last season, when he gave up three runs in five innings.
The Tigers haven’t listed a starter. Jack Flaherty was supposed to start on Monday night but was scratched amid trade rumors. Detroit didn’t want to risk Flaherty taking another start while exploring deals.
Hinch was forced to improvise on Monday night, and it appears the plan is the same for Tuesday.
“It always feels a little different around the deadline,” Hinch said. “I know everybody feels it. Jack’s been one of the best pitchers in the American League, if not the entire league. When you scratch him, it’s very notable, and everybody knows why.”
Cleveland added to its lineup on Monday by trading for Washington outfielder Lane Thomas. However, it’s unlikely he’ll make his Guardians debut Tuesday afternoon due to the turnaround.
“One of our goals heading into the deadline was to try to find a way to lengthen the lineup and add some offense,” Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “We feel we’ve been able to do that by bringing Lane into the organization.”
–Field Level Media