CLEVELAND -- For 175 days, the standings showed the Detroit Tigers having at least a share of first place in the American League Central ... until Wednesday.
The Cleveland Guardians, which were 15½ games out of first in early July, took over sole possession of the top spot in the division with another come-from-behind victory, sending the Tigers to their eighth consecutive loss.
It was Guardians' 17th victory in 19 games. Their streak has been as dramatic as the Tigers' skid.
"You don't know what's going to happen in the future," winning pitcher Tanner Bibee said after the 5-1 victory. "Maybe it [first place] wasn't at the forefront, but maybe it was like looking through a telescope and it's farther down the road."
That's an understatement considering the Guardians were still 10½ games out as recently as Sept. 1.
A gambling scandal involving two pitchers didn't deter them. Neither did moving players at the trade deadline. They just kept grinding and the wins began to pile up.
"You see the standings," left fielder Steven Kwan said. "It's definitely a little daunting if you look, but it's one of those things where ignorance is bliss. You keep your head down and don't worry about it. If you get caught up in those things early on, you're going to be doomed."
Now the Guardians control their own destiny, having already won the season series against the Tigers with one more game left between the teams on Thursday. A win would put the Guardians on the brink of clinching the division for the second consecutive season, but this time they'll set a record in doing so.
Since MLB went to division play in 1969, the biggest deficit overcome to win a division was 14 games by the 1978 New York Yankees to win the AL East.
"It feels good, but there is no prize for having that spot today," manager Stephen Vogt said. "We have a lot of work left to do."
While that is true, Cleveland continues to impose its will on its opponents -- including the Tigers, who it has beaten five times over the past nine days.
"It's painful," Tigers manager AJ Hinch told reporters. "I'm having a hard time coming up with words and I know that's not the norm. But what I'm seeing out of our team is not normal. But it's our reality."
The Guardians quickly erased a 1-0 deficit, scoring twice in the bottom of the third inning when oft-injured DH George Valera took Jack Flaherty deep for a two-run homer. It was a full-circle moment for Valera, who suffered through injuries and being DFA'd over the past couple of seasons to get to this point.
"I dreamt of moments like this when I couldn't walk and I was stuck in the minors for a couple years because of all my injuries," Valera said. "This is the best moment of my life right now."
He clapped hands with teammate Brayan Rocchio during their postgame media session as the two were all smiles after helping the Guardians take over first place.
Later in the game, Roccio was the beneficiary of a dropped foul popup by Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler, which led to a run-scoring opportunity. After Roccio worked a walk, Jose Ramirez delivered the knockout blow with a two-run double.
It was all Bibee would need as the Guardians' starting pitchers have been the driving force in their resurgence. The rotation has allowed two or fewer runs in 19 straight games -- the longest streak since the Rays' starters went 19 straight in 2019. On Wednesday, Bibee gave up just one run over five innings.
"Tonight was a huge outing by Tanner, especially given he didn't have his best stuff," Vogt said.
Added Kwan: "I feel like every at-bat is 0-1 with our pitchers, which is fun. They're being aggressors. Those one-run leads feel bigger than they should."
So, too, does a one-game lead with four to play.
The Tigers simply have no answers while the Guardians seemingly have all of them. One team is in free fall while the other might need to prep for an improbable celebration.
"You don't make sense of it," Flaherty told reporters. "You just move to the next day. These guys [the Guardians], that's some of the best baseball I've seen in September, just in what they've been able to do. They've done their job and we haven't done ours.
"We're in the spot we're in now and we've got to come out and keep competing. Show a little bit of fight. We're not executing in a bunch of different ways right now. Somebody's got to get a spark."
About that spark, when Roccio was asked if he believed they could catch the Tigers back when they were 15½ games out of first place, he didn't hesitate.
"One hundred percent," he said while turning to the team interpreter for help with what he wanted to say next. "We had unity as a group."