Tigers swept in doubleheader as Guardians score in 10th inning

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on Sep 4, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CLEVELAND – It couldn’t happen again, could it? Lightening doesn’t strike twice.

Sure it does.

After the Tigers watched a 6-1 lead evaporate in a 7-6, walk-off loss to the Guardians in Game 1 Friday, a 3-1 lead went up in literal smoke in the eighth inning in Game 2 when Travis Bazzana’s two-run homer off Jacob Waguespack tied the game and activated the pyrotechnics at Progressive Field.

Brayan Rocchio was the hero for the Guardians in the first game with a walk-off homer in the ninth. In Game 2, after the Tigers failed to plate the free runner in the top of the 10th inning, Rocchio reached base on a fielder's choice. He tried to bunt the free runner, Patrick Bailey to third. But third baseman Colt Keith made a heady play, fielding the bunt, pivoting and throwing Bailey out at third with shortstop Kevin McGonigle covering.

But Rocchio stole second base and third base against Kenley Jansen and with two outs, he scored the winner on a single by Bazzana. Guardians swept the Tigers' 4-3.

The Tigers have now lost 16 of their last 20 games and are 13 games under .500 (64-77). This was their 30th blown save and their 20th loss when leading in the seventh inning.

For six innings, though, rookie lefty Andrew Sears protected the skinny lead like it was his baby.

In his first major league start, Sears bulldogged his way through 5 2/3 innings, allowing only a run and four hits. And he also indirectly played a part in the ejection of Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt.

Sears, who works extremely fast, established a lively, 94-mph four-seam fastball right out of the gate and moved it around the plate effectively, setting up his slider and change-up.

The Guardians had issues with Sears’ rapid-fire delivery and they were trying to slow down his pace. In the fifth inning, catcher Austin Hedges tried to step out of the box but waited too long and earned a pitch-clock violation.

Vogt raced out of the dugout to protect Hedges, who was beefing with home plate umpire Manny Ramirez and ended up getting ejected.

Sears remained unfazed. He allowed just three hits through five innings and was one out away from closing out the sixth.

He already exceeded his highest pitch count this season in the minors (78) when he lost a seven-pitch battle against lefty-swinging Nathaniel Lowe, who drove a 3-2 slider, his 93rd pitch, into the gap in right-center to score Jose Ramirez from first.

Right-hander Beau Brieske finished the sixth, striking out pinch-hitter Daniel Schneemann with a 97-mph heater.

Brieske followed that up with a clean seventh, posting two more strikeouts.

Waguespack walked Steven Kwan to start the eighth and fell behind 2-0 on Bazzana. His center-cut, 94-mph four-seamer reached the left-center seats quickly.

In building the lead, the Tigers might have lost the services of rookie Hao-Yu Lee. He left the game in the third inning after colliding at home plate with Guardians catcher Hedges.

Lee tried to score from third base on a ground ball to third by Spencer Torkelson. Jose Ramirez’s throw beat him to the plate and Lee’s lower left leg banged hard with Hedges shin protector.

Lee stayed bent over for several seconds and needed some assistance getting to his feet. He limped off with the help of the Tigers’ trainers. The Tigers’ initial diagnosis was left shin contusion.

He was the designated hitter in the game and was pinch hit for by Dillon Dingler when his turn to bat came around again in the fifth.

It was an expensive inning for the Tigers on several fronts.

Not only did they potentially lose Lee, who hit an RBI single in that third inning, but they squandered a chance to build a big inning against Guardians’ lefty Foster Griffin.

Lee’s base hit came with no outs after Zach McKintry singled and Gleyber Torres walked. After Lee singled, he went to third on an RBI double by Kevin McGonigle. There were still no outs.

But that was the last run.

McGonigle ended up being thrown out on an odd, 6-2-4-5 fielder’s choice hit by Eduardo Valencia. Lee went back to third and McGonigle also ended up at third. McGonigle was out in a run down trying to scamper back to second.

Lee was thrown out at the plate and Max Clark grounded out to end the inning.

The Tigers scored again in the fifth on an RBI single by Valencia. But they stranded Dingler, who doubled and was at third base with one out.