Detroit @ Cleveland Game Overview

The right-hander will make his postseason debut Wednesday afternoon as the Tigers attempt to sweep the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of their American League wild-card series.

Mize (14-6, 3.87 ERA) will take on Guardians righty Tanner Bibee (12-11, 4.24) in the same ballpark where he received crushing news from Detroit manager A.J. Hinch before the 2024 AL Division Series.

"We were shagging batting practice and we went into the Guardians bullpen, and he let me know I would be left off the roster," Mize said. "It was tough. Now, I look down here and see the spot where I was sitting and have bad memories, for sure.

"It's cool to walk by it now and say it's the place that kind of helped change the pitcher and player that I am."

Mize has faced Cleveland four times in his five-year career, going 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. However, he owns a 1-0 record and a 2.08 ERA in three outings this season. He has no doubt who the hardest out is in the Guardians' lineup.

"When people ask me who are some of the toughest players I've ever played against, Jose (Ramirez) is one of the first two, three, four (names) that comes out of my mouth," Mize said. "And I know he's a leader of that team and he's a constant. When you think of Cleveland, you think of Jose."

In Game 1, Central Division champion Cleveland made a pair of errors that turned into two unearned runs and a 2-1 loss to the Tigers.

The hosts only managed four hits off Detroit ace Tarik Skubal and closer Will Vest, disappointing the ballpark playoff record-low crowd of 26,186 fans.

The Guardians now must defy the odds in the wild-card round to keep their season alive. Game 1 losers are 4-16 in Game 2 under the current best-of-three series format -- and only two of those 20 teams moved on to the Division Series.

"There's no pressure," said Cleveland right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez, who committed one of the miscues. "I know the guys are ready to play ball, and we obviously need to win two games, so we just need to come here tomorrow and play."

Bibee was magnificent in three starts against Detroit in the 2025 regular season, going 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19 innings. He is 4-3 with a 3.62 ERA in nine career games against the Tigers, in addition to two no-decisions with a 2.08 ERA in last year's ALDS.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt never hesitated to keep Gavin Williams and Bibee on regular rest by giving them the ball in the first two contests. Both are pitching against their division rivals for the third time in two weeks.

"There are always going to be tricks up your sleeve and we're going to attack them different," Bibee said. "They probably are too. It's a chess game. It's something to navigate and that's what we'll figure out."

Williams, who was the hard-luck loser Tuesday, believes Cleveland has the right mindset to bounce back.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a three-game series for a reason," he said. "We've got to win two. We're not going to get down. We're not going to think about this. Tomorrow's a new day."

--Brian Dulik, Field Level Media