Game result and context
Guardians edge Tigers 3-2 in 10 innings, hold third wild-card spot
Cleveland scored once in the 10th inning to beat Detroit 3-2 in the last game of a four-game set. Brayan Rocchio tied the game with a solo home run in the fifth, Gavin Williams struck out 11 over 6.0 innings, and Cade Smith worked 2.0 scoreless innings for the win. The Guardians moved to 73-71, while the Tigers fell to 65-78.
Final result
The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in 10 innings on September 6, 2026, at Progressive Field. The winning run came in the bottom of the 10th, after neither team scored from the sixth inning through the ninth.
Cleveland improved to 73-71. Detroit dropped to 65-78. Attendance was 32,318.
How the game changed
Detroit struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning. Cleveland answered with one run in the bottom half, and the score held until the fifth.
Brayan Rocchio evened it in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run, the only homer of the game. From there the pitching took over. Neither side scored again until the Guardians pushed across the deciding run in the 10th.
Key performances
Gavin Williams struck out 11 over 6.0 innings for Cleveland and allowed 2 earned runs. Cade Smith added 2.0 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and earned the win, improving to 5-1.
Rocchio finished with one hit in three at-bats, scoring once and driving in one. Travis Bazzana had two hits in four at-bats with an RBI.
For Detroit, Riley Greene had two hits in four at-bats and drove in both Tigers runs. On the mound, Jackson Jobe struck out seven over 5.0 innings and allowed 2 earned runs.
Season and playoff context
The win kept Cleveland in the third wild-card position. The Guardians sit second in their division, 2.5 games back, with a division elimination number of 16.
Detroit is fourth in the division, 10.0 games back, and ninth in the wild-card standings, 7.5 games out. The Tigers' elimination number is 9 for the division and 10 for the wild card.
Series context
This was the fourth and final game of a four-game regular-season series between the clubs in Cleveland.