Cubs vs. Tigers: Four things to know, prediction as baseball's two best teams meet in Detroit

Baseball's two best teams will meet this weekend not in Los Angeles or New York or Philadelphia. The AL-best Detroit Tigers will host the NL-best Chicago Cubs for a three-game interleague series at Comerica Park. The Cubbies and Tigers have the two best records in baseball entering play Friday.

Here are the top of the MLB standings:

1. Detroit Tigers: 41-23
2. Chicago Cubs: 39-23 (1 GB)
3. New York Yankees: 38-23 (1 ½ GB)
4. New York Mets: 39-24 (1 ½ GB)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers: 38-25 (2 ½ GB)

"We've got some things to clean up," Tigers manager AJ Hinch said after Thursday's walk-off loss to the Chicago White Sox (via MLB.com). "We'll reset, get home, and play in front of an awesome crowd (for) a good series."

The Tigers and Cubs have the two best records in baseball, one year after winning 86 and 83 games, respectively. Detroit snapped its decade-long postseason drought a year ago. The Cubs have not been to the postseason since 2020, and they haven't been there in a full 162-game season since 2018. They're well-positioned to end that mini-drought this year.

Here are the details for this weekend's three-game series at Comerica Park. Select games can be streamed regionally on fubo (try for free).

When you have a series with the Tigers, you hope the schedule gods grant you the gift of avoiding Skubal, but no such luck for the Cubs this weekend. They'll see the reigning AL Cy Young winner and the sport's most dominant pitcher -- Skubal has 89 strikeouts and three walks in his last 10 starts -- in the series opener Friday night.

Here now are four things to know about this weekend's Cubs vs. Tigers series in Detroit, with a prediction thrown in, because why not?

1. Their ties run deep

When the Cubs and Tigers look across the field this weekend, both sides will see a lot of familiar faces. Tigers super utility man Zach McKinstry played 47 games with the Cubs in 2022 before being traded to Detroit. Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd spent parts of eight seasons with the Tigers from 2015-21 and 2023. He was Detroit's Opening Day starter in 2020 and 2021.

Second baseman Gleyber Torres, now with the Tigers, never played a game for the Cubs, though he is an important figure in their history. Torres, then in Single-A, was the headline prospect the Cubs traded to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 trade deadline. Chapman went on to help the Cubs win their first World Series championship in 108 years later that season.

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has ties to the Cubs as well. He served as Chicago's director of baseball operations from 2012-17 before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2018. Harris joined the San Francisco Giants as their general manager in 2019. In 2022, the Tigers hired him away from the Giants to be their president of baseball operations.

And of course, the biggest tie between the Cubs and Tigers is El Mago, Javier Báez. Báez was drafted by the Cubs and played his first eight big league seasons with Chicago. He was part of their 2016 World Series team, and he finished second in the NL MVP voting in 2018. Báez had enormous highs during his time with the Cubbies. There were some very low lows too.

The Cubs traded Báez to the Mets in the 2021 deadline deal that netted them a prospect named Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is now starring in center field. After that season, Báez signed a seven-year free-agent contract worth $140 million with the Tigers. That contract has largely been a disaster, though Báez is having a productive bounceback season this year.

Also, shoutout to catcher Carson Kelly. He's having a tremendous season with the Cubs after spending the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024 with the Tigers. There are plenty of Cubs with ties to the Tigers and plenty of Tigers with ties to the Cubs. These two teams have fingerprints all over each other.

2. Detroit's success is more than a hot start

Last season, the Tigers rode a scorching hot finish to their first postseason berth since 2014. They won 31 of their final 44 games to earn a wild-card spot, and that great finish to 2024 has carried over into 2025. In their last 162 games, the Tigers are 96-66. That is the fourth best record in baseball. Here are the best records in the last 162 games:

1. New York Mets: 101-61
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: 98-64
3. San Diego Padres: 97-65
4. Detroit Tigers: 96-66
5. Houston Astros: 95-67

Next up on that list? The Cubs. They're 91-71 in their last 162 games. They won 32 of their final 53 games last year, and although it did not earn them a postseason berth, it did create excitement heading into 2025. The Cubs have made good on that excitement and have been the best team in the National League two months into this season.

Detroit's great start to 2025 is much more than a great start. They have been one of the best teams in baseball for 12 months now. So have the Cubs, though the Tigers have been a wee bit better over this last year. Few things in this sport are as exciting as a talented young team emerging one year and fully breaking out the next. 

3. Who's hot, who's not

Baseball is a game of hot and cold streaks. Consistency is a myth. A .300 hitter doesn't get three hits every 10 at-bats, or even hit .300 every single month. He hits .300 one month, .250 the next, .350 the month after that, etc. Naturally, some Cubs and Tigers players go into this weekend swinging the bat better than others.

Here are three Cubs players who are swinging a hot bat over the last two weeks:

Crow-Armstrong leads the National League with 3.6 WAR and is third in baseball behind Aaron Judge (5.3 WAR) and Cal Raleigh (4.0 WAR). In addition to all those home runs the last two weeks, PCA has also stolen seven bases, and he's the best defensive center fielder in the sport. An absolute superstar, he's become. Truly one of the best players in the game.

Kyle Tucker is riding an 11-game home run drought, though he's still hit .306 with a .435 on-base percentage these last two weeks. Nico Hoerner is hitting .319/.373/.404 over the last two weeks. He's driven in 28 runs this year despite not hitting a single homer. On the other end of the spectrum, Dansby Swanson's going through it right now. He's hit .149/.192/.234 the last two weeks.

Here now are three Tigers players who've been hot at the plate the last two weeks:

Torres hasn't hit for much power lately, but he has a .439 on-base percentage over the last two weeks. Kerry Carpenter had a three-homer game against the White Sox this past Monday, and he had a chance to hit a fourth home run, though he flew out to center. McKinstry (.241/.389/.448 last two weeks) and Riley Greene (.283/.327/.435) have been great all year, and especially lately.

Shortstop Trey Sweeney, who came over in the Flaherty trade with the Dodgers at last year's deadline, has slumped the most out of Detroit's hitters the last two weeks. He's hitting .133/.133/.133 the last 14 days while striking out in one out of every three plate appearances. Báez has cooled down following his hot start, too. He's hitting .211/.211/.263 over the last two weeks.

4. The importance of this series

The Cubs and Tigers are not division rivals, nor are they in the same league. This series is important though. This is a three-game series and the two teams will not play again this year, so, the winner of this weekend's series will hold the tiebreaker. Whoever wins the series will get home field advantage if the Cubs and Tigers finished with identical records, and meet in the World Series.

An unlikely scenario? Yes. For sure. The Cubs and Tigers have to finish with the same record and win the pennant for the tiebreaker to matter. The chances that it happens are very small. Very small is not zero through. The tiebreaker is something you'd rather have and not need than need and not have. Win the series this weekend, pad your win total and division lead, and clinch the tiebreaker over the best team in the other league. The Cubs and Tigers will try to do that this weekend.

Prediction

Let's close with a sure-to-be-wrong prediction: Tigers win two of three. Friday's Brown vs. Skubal pitching matchup is so lopsided on paper that it has reverse lock written all over it. The Cubs find a way to win Friday's game, then the Tigers rally to take the series with wins Saturday and Sunday. It has been foretold.