Incredible Tigers stat shows they used Guardians devil magic against them in Game 1

As Detroit Tigers fans know all too well, playing the Cleveland Guardians can be an annoying experience. Guardian ball has been what has kept Cleveland near the top of the American League Central in recent seasons, and in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card series between the two rivals, it's what gave the division champions an early run against Tarik Skubal and the Tigers.

However, it was the Tigers that mastered the Guardians' playbook. In the seventh inning of Tuesday's pitcher's duel, it was Zach McKinstry's squeeze bunt that proved to be the difference in the game.

Riley Greene scored on the play, and that was the game-winning run. Small ball isn't exactly what the Tigers were known for during the regular season, and in fact, they were one of the teams that avoided the approach the most.

Meanwhile, the Guardians were among the teams with the most sacrifice bunts this season. The Guardians had 28 throughout the 2025 campaign, the fifth most in all of baseball. For the Tigers, the only teams that had fewer sacrifice bunts than they did were the Baltimore Orioles.

The heroics from McKinstry were a reminder that the script a team had during the regular season isn't always the blueprint for success in the playoffs. Drastic measures are often needed in October, and that is especially true for a Tigers team that backed into the playoffs.

Tuesday's victory for the Tigers was a role reversal. It was the Tigers who took advantage of a misplay in the outfield during the first inning that gave them their first lead in the game. It was the Tigers who perfectly executed the squeeze play in the seventh inning. And it was the Tigers who took advantage of Jose Ramirez's base-running gaffe in the ninth inning.

Throw in the fact that Skubal was simply dominant, and no form of Guardians ball was going to beat the Tigers on Tuesday. Let's get them one more time on Wednesday, seal this thing up, and get Cleveland out of our way until 2026. They can have the entire offseason to think about how their uninspiring strategy was used against them to help pack their bags.