Guardians-White Sox ALDS matchup is yet another knife in the heart for Tigers

There will only be one Wild Card Game 3 played on Thursday, between the Braves and Phillies. The Padres, Yankees, and White Sox all made quick work of the Cubs, Red Sox, and Astros — and all three swept teams looked woefully, hilariously outmatched basically from the jump.

The Padres will go on to see the Brewers, the Yankees the Rays, and the White Sox the Guardians. No matter what, an AL Central team will be in the running to win the American League pennant while the Tigers are at home, thinking about what could've been.

No doubt the White Sox-Guardians ALDS will be hard-fought. Chicago suffered at Cleveland's hands in September, when they lost two out of three and forfeited their top spot in the division, which they could never reclaim sole ownership of. Revenge will be on the White Sox's mind.

The Guardians have the benefit of rest, and the White Sox leaned on their bullpen heavily through two games against the Astros, but there's no denying that this Southside team just has the vibe. Their champagne shower after their clinch was fun — and, admittedly, well-deserved.

Scott Harris and AJ Hinch talked a bit about what they and the team should be feeling after elimination. Thanks to the virality of these celebrations, the joy of them, it's clear they should be feeling pretty bad.

A Central team will be in the running to win the AL pennant, but it won't be the Tigers

The lesser of the two enemies here is undeniably the White Sox. They've been a non-factor for the last three years, but the Guardians have remained infuriatingly stolid in the division. There's a reason Tigers fans call it "Guardians devil/dark magic." Detroit isn't the only victim to it, but it sure does seem to happen most against us.

There's still some novelty to this White Sox run. They were so bad for so long — that small uptick in 2020 and 2021 notwithstanding — and just two years ago they became the losingest team in baseball history. Now, they're a bonafide postseason contender. It's not enough for Tigers fans to root for them, but it might be enough to not actively root against them.

The same can't be said of the Guardians, who have tormented the division and lucked into three consecutive first-place finishes.

The Tigers got their first taste of the big time after so long in 2024, and after 2025, it looked like there was only up to go. The fact that two familiar enemies are still in the hunt is a painful reminder that the Tigers lost what seemed set in stone at the beginning of the year.

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