+Griffin's been a difference-making trade addition (15-4)
+3-2 in last 5, already beat Detroit in the opener
−Lost Martinez and Holderman to injury within the doubleheader
−Bullpen had to work twice in one day
Griffin took the mound for Cleveland riding one of the best value-add trades of the summer — 15-4 with a 3.26 ERA since arriving from Washington in August — while Detroit trotted out Andrew Sears, a rookie lefty making just his second big-league start. On paper it read like a mismatch. In practice, the rain-delayed nightcap turned into exactly the kind of grind doubleheaders produce.
Andrew Sears
(0-1)·5.40 ERA
2026 · No starts yet
ND
—IP
—ER
—K
—BB
—P
09/04 Lineup
Foster Griffin
(15-5)·3.67 ERA
Aug 29 vs Royals
ND
5.0IP
2ER
4K
1BB
82P
09/04 Lineup
Both dugouts were feeling the day by the time this one actually got going at 7:15 PM ET. Cleveland had already lost Angel Martinez to a shoulder bruise and watched right-hander Colin Holderman get shipped to the 15-day injured list with wrist inflammation — rough timing for a team about to ask its bullpen to cover two games in one afternoon and evening. Detroit's injury list, meanwhile, remains deep enough to include Justin Verlander, Reese Olson and Trey Sweeney, none of them walking through that clubhouse door anytime soon.
None of it stopped Detroit from grabbing the early edge. The Tigers scratched across a pair of runs in the third and tacked on another in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead into the sixth, riding exactly the kind of offensive punch that had them putting up 11 runs on Minnesota days earlier.
Cleveland clawed it back an inning at a time — a run in the sixth, two more in the eighth to tie it — before finally putting the Tigers away with a run in the 10th for the 4-3 final. It capped a full doubleheader sweep for the Guardians, who'd already needed a walk-off to take the opener.
For a Tigers team well under .500 and picking through a rotation that already includes Flaherty on a rehab clock, it's the same story that's defined their September: competitive into the middle innings, undone late. For Cleveland, it's a Griffin start that didn't need to be his best to still be enough — the trade continues to look like exactly what the front office needed down the stretch.
Tigers 3, Guardians 4: Final Score & Odds Recap — Guardians Complete Doubleheader Sweep In Extra-Inning Grind
