CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tanner Bibee might just feel like he can never lose again.
On the heels of earning his first win last week in Texas, Bibee picked up his second straight victory Friday, allowing only a pair of solo home runs in a 3-2 Guardians win against the Tigers at Progressive Field.
The win snapped a four-game losing skid and moved the Guardians to 5-0 against their American League Central Division rivals this season.
Bibee followed up his best outing of the year with another strong start. Last week, he tossed eight scoreless innings against the Rangers to earn his first win in 14 chances. On Friday, he allowed two runs on two hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking two.
Cade Smith slammed the door in the ninth, retiring the heart of Detroit’s lineup for his major league-leading 22nd save.
It marked Bibee’s sixth quality start in his last seven outings. Cleveland has won each of Bibee’s last 10 starts against Detroit, including the postseason. During that stretch, he is 5-0 with an ERA under 1.50.
Bibee’s only two mistakes were a leadoff home run by James Outman in the third inning and a solo blast by Spencer Torkelson to open the eighth. Between those two hits, Bibee retired 14 of the 15 batters he faced, with only Zach McKinstry reaching on a throwing error by Rhys Hoskins in the fifth.
Bibee quickly erased that misstep by picking McKinstry off first base, his third pickoff of the season, allowing him to face the minimum over that stretch.
Outman’s homer was his first of the season and came in his first start for Detroit after being claimed off waivers from Minnesota on Thursday. Prior to Outman’s homer, Bibee had not allowed a home run to a Tigers hitter since McKinstry went deep against him in the 2024 AL Division Series.
Brayan Rocchio continued to make a difference for the Guardians on both sides of the ball. He made a sensational catch in shallow center with his back to the infield to rob Colt Keith of a base hit in the second inning, then delivered a two-out RBI triple in the bottom half that stretched Cleveland’s lead to two runs.
The sequence was another reminder of why the Guardians continue to trust Rocchio as their everyday shortstop. His catch showcased the range and instincts that have made him one of Cleveland’s most reliable defenders, while his production at the plate supplied the type of complementary offense he has grown more comfortable providing.
The Guardians took the lead in the second when Hoskins doubled to open the inning against Tigers starter Jack Flaherty and scored on a two-out RBI single by Patrick Bailey. It was Bailey’s 10th RBI, and his fifth since joining Cleveland from San Francisco in an early May trade.
Rocchio, who entered the game batting .333 in his career against Flaherty, followed with an RBI triple that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 2-0.
The Guardians added a run in the sixth when Angel Martínez doubled with one out against Tigers righty Drew Anderson and Steven Kwan followed with his second hit of the game, a line-drive single to center that gave him 13 RBI on the season.
Kwan’s two-hit night continued a recent move in the right direction for the All-Star outfielder after he spent much of the past month searching for consistency at the plate.
Chase DeLauter, batting just .209 over his previous 30 games, also added two hits, including a double with one out in the seventh against Tigers righty Ty Madden. DeLauter extended his hitting streak to five games and has driven in a pair of runs during that stretch.
Next:
The series continues Saturday with a 4:10 p.m. first pitch at Progressive Field. Left-hander Joey Cantillo (4-3, 4.57) will start for Cleveland while lefty Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70) takes the mound for the Tigers. The game will air on Guardians TV, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM, WARF 1350 AM (Spanish) and the Guardians Radio Network.
