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The first of three won games 3 in the wildcard round of MLB will face two American League Central Division enemies for the last time in 2025.
The match between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Thursday is the ninth time their rivals have faced in 17 days. The Guardians won five of their final six regular-season matchups, and were promoted to their second straight division title.
The Tigers acquired this Al Wild Card Series Game 1 behind a dominant performance from starter Tarik Scuball, and the Guardians even got Game 2 behind eight innings of five runs and eight tie blanks, including a home run by Brayan Rocchio and Bo Naylor.
The winner of Thursday’s game will fly to Seattle and face the Mariners, who won AL West in the AL Division Series from Saturday.
Follow live updates from Game 3 of the Al Wild Card series between the Tigers and the Guardian.
Watch the Tigers on fubo’s Guardians (Free Trial)
What time is the Tigers vs. Guardians Game 3?
- date: Thursday, October 2nd, 2025
- Start time: 3:08pm
Game 3 of the Al Wild Card Series between the Tigers and Guardians begins at 3:08pm ET from Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Which channel is the Tigers vs Guardians Game 3?
- TV Channel: ABC
- Streaming: ESPN App-Toil
MLB Postseason Bracket
American League
National League
Here’s how the writers and editors of USA Today Sports MLB can shake up Game 3 in the Tigers-Guardians Wild-Card series.
- Bob Knightgale: Guardians 4, Tigers 2
- Gabe Lackes: Tigers 4, Guardians 2
- Jesse Yomtov: Guardian 5, Tigers 3
Right-handed Jack Flaherty is not a man who doesn’t know how to pitch the spotlight with the brightest. Flaherty appeared in five games during the Dodgers World Series run last year. Flaherty had a disappointing 2025 regular season, reaching 8-15 with an ERA 4.64. He finished strong and posted a 3.86 ERA in four starts in September. This was his best month outside of April. Flaherty faced the Guardians three times during the season, making it 0-3 with an ERA 3.94 and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. His final two regular season start came against Cleveland. Cleveland scored one run in five innings on September 17th and tagged him with a run he won three times in 4.1 innings on September 24th.
Right-handed Slade Sekconi, who was bought for Josh Naylor during the offseason, was a bit of a steady force for Cleveland this year. Cecconi gave the Guardians 23 a start, 7-7 with an ERA 4.30 during the season. Cecconi allowed less than two runs in four of the last five starts, compiling a 2.19 ERA during that stretch.
- Gleyber Torres, 2b
- Kelly Carpenter, DH
- Wensel Perez, RF
- Spencer Torkelson, 1b
- Riley Green, lf
- Dillon Dangles, c
- Zach McKinstry, 3b
- Javier Baez, SS
- Parker Meadows, cf
- Stephen Kwan, lf
- George Valera, RF
- Jose Ramirez, 3b
- Kyle Manzard, DH
- Chase Delleter, cf
- Gabriel Arias, SS
- Bo Naylor, c
- CJ Kayfus, 1b
- Brayan Rocchio, 2b
Wild Card Series
Tuesday, September 30th
- Tigers 2, Guardians 1 (Detroit leads 1-0)
- Cubs 3, Padres 1 (Chicago leads 1-0)
- Red Sox 3, Yankees 1 (Boston leads 1-0)
- Dodgers 10, Reds 5 (Los Angeles leads 1-0)
Wednesday, October 1st
- Guardians 6, Tigers 1 (series tied 1-1)
- Padres 3, Cubs 0 (Series Thailand 1-1)
- Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 (Series Thailand 1-1)
- Dodgers 8, Reds 4 (Los Angeles wins 2-0)
Thursday, October 2nd
- Guardians Tigers, Game 3:3:08 PM ET, ABC
- Cubs’ Padres, Game 3:5:08 PM ET, ESPN
- Yankees Red Sox, Game 3:8:08 PM ET, ESPN
Division Series
Saturday, October 4th
- Yankees/Red Sox at Blue Jays, Game 1, TBD
- The Mariners’ Tigers/Guardian, Game 1, TBD
- Brewers’ Cubs/Padres, Game 1, TBS/trutv/hbo max
- Phillies’ Dodgers, Game 1: TBS/trutv/hbo max
Detroit finished 87-75 to the sixth-place wildcard in the American League. The Tigers took a 14-game lead in the Division on July 8th, but then went 28-41, losing their AL Central lead in the final week of the season.
Cleveland was 88-74 and won their second straight division title, rallying from a 15.5-game deficit in early July. The Guardians went 48-26 after losing to the Tigers on July 6th. This included winning 18 of the last 22 games, winning five of the six from the Tigers in the final two weeks.
