Overview

• Detroit’s advantage is down to a single game after a 6-5 loss to Atlanta in which Will Vest blew a ninth-inning lead.
• The skid reached five straight defeats and eight losses in nine games, erasing much of a midsummer lead that peaked around 15 games.
• Cleveland extended its surge to 10 consecutive wins, including a 14-0 doubleheader sweep of Minnesota, with a run-prevention stretch featuring just 15 earned runs across the last 16 starts.
• The final week now brings one more game against Atlanta, then three in Cleveland and three in Boston, a slate that could swing both the division and Detroit’s seeding outlook.
• Playoff math has shifted: the Tigers’ odds, once above 99%, are now just over 80% with a first-round bye unlikely, while the Guardians are tied with Houston for the final Wild Card and one back of Boston.