Guardians lose 7-2 to the Tigers on July 6, 2025, after Emmanuel Clase's wild pitch leads to a collapse. The losing streak hits a decade-high 10 games.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
It was all right there. One strike. That's all that separated the Cleveland Guardians from snapping a miserable nine-game losing streak. Instead, Progressive Field witnessed a new level of heartbreak as closer Emmanuel Clase's wild pitch allowed the tying run to score in the ninth, paving the way for a tenth-inning meltdown and a crushing 7-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The skid is now at 10 games, a gut-wrenching number the franchise hasn't seen in over a decade.
With Sunday's loss, the Guardians' losing streak hit 10 games, the 11th double-digit skid in franchise history and the first since 2012.
The scene was set for a much-needed celebration. Closer Emmanuel Clase was on the mound, two outs on the board, and the Guardians were a single strike from victory. Then, disaster. A wild pitch skipped away, the tying run scurried home, and the collective groan from the crowd told the whole story. The game spiraled from there. The tenth inning was a full-blown catastrophe, with the Tigers erupting for six runs, highlighted by home runs from Trey Sweeney and Riley Greene. Cade Smith (2-3) was saddled with the loss, but the damage was done the moment that final strike couldn't be found. The collapse was made even more bitter by Erik Sabrowski's heroics in the eighth, when he struck out Greene with a blazing 94.4 mph fastball to escape a jam and preserve the tie, a moment of clutch pitching that was ultimately erased.
Before the late-game implosion, there were signs of life. Gavin Williams was nothing short of brilliant, carving up the Tigers' lineup for six scoreless innings. He allowed just a single hit while striking out eight, a dominant performance that deserved a much better fate. At the plate, Steven Kwan continued to be the team's most reliable offensive weapon, going 3-for-5 and lacing a crucial RBI double in the eighth that briefly gave Cleveland the lead. But on a day when the team desperately needed a win, these stellar individual efforts were simply not enough to overcome the bullpen's fatal flaw.
There's no time to dwell on the heartbreak, as the schedule offers no relief. The Guardians now pack their bags for a six-game road trip, starting Monday in Houston against the formidable Astros. The challenge is immediate and immense. Tanner Bibee (4-9, 4.20 ERA) will get the unenviable task of trying to halt this historic skid against one of the league's best pitchers in Hunter Brown (9-3, 1.82 ERA). A change of scenery might be what this team needs, but facing the Astros is hardly a recipe for an easy win. The team is now chasing history for all the wrong reasons, sitting just two losses shy of the 1931 franchise record for consecutive defeats (12).
This 10-game losing streak has tested the resolve of the team and its fans. The flight to Houston represents a chance to reset, to turn the page on a disastrous homestand. Can the Guardians find a way to scratch out a win against a tough opponent and stop the bleeding? Or will this historic skid continue on the road? Monday's game isn't just another game; it's a desperate fight to reclaim a season that's rapidly slipping away.
