DETROIT -- The race for the American League Central title is on.
Behind a go-ahead two-run homer by José Ramírez while Tanner Bibee went toe-to-toe with Tarik Skubal, the Guardians beat the Tigers, 3-1, at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep of the division leaders.
Cleveland (which has won a season-high seven straight games) improved to 81-71 and now sits just 3 1/2 games behind Detroit (85-68) for first place in the division. These two teams will meet again at Progressive Field next Tuesday-Thursday in a three-game series that could make or break either club’s division title chances.
It’s something that seemed unfathomable the last time these two squared off. The Tigers led the Guardians by 13 1/2 games in the division after completing a three-game sweep in Cleveland July 4-6. Their lead was as high as 15 1/2 games on July 8.
Ramírez’s clutch swing in the seventh launched the Guardians to a sweep. He got a 1-0 cutter from Troy Melton down and over the plate and hit it a Statcast-projected 368 feet over the right-field wall to break a 1-1 tie.
Skubal allowed just one run on seven hits and two walks over six innings, which included a solo home run by Jhonkensy Noel in the fourth. He threw 31 pitches in the fourth and 102 on the afternoon -- which is eight more than he threw in his shutout of Cleveland on May 25.
Bibee allowed one run on four hits and two walks over six innings, marking his third straight quality start and fifth consecutive outing in which he has gone six innings. It is his longest such streak this season. The right-hander has lowered his ERA from 4.69 to 4.34 over his past two outings, in which he has allowed one run over 15 innings.
Before next week’s rematch, the Tigers will host the Braves for three games, and the Guardians will visit the Twins for a four-game set that includes a doubleheader Saturday.