Miguel Cabrera's legendary career is complete.

In front of 41,425 fans, the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians, 5-2, in Sunday's regular-season finale at Comerica Park. The sellout crowd witnessed the final game of Cabrera's 21-year MLB career, as well as the final game of Guardians manager Terry Francona's career.

"Every moment was hard for me," Cabrera said. "I think it was the hardest game I've ever played in my life. It was tough. There were a lot of things passing through my head. I wasn't able to focus. It was hard."

THANK YOU, MIGGY: Miguel Cabrera ends legendary MLB run with tales from friends, teammates: 'It was all him'

The Tigers finished 78-84 and claimed second place in the American League Central, two games ahead of the third-place Guardians and nine games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins. Detroit posted its best finish in the standings since 2016, but the historic franchise has missed the postseason for eight seasons in a row, tied for the longest active drought in the major leagues.

Cabrera received four plate appearances in his final game and teared up on the field at the conclusion.

"I can't explain that," Cabrera said. "I want to say thank you for all the support (the fans) gave me my whole career. I feel like I'm a part of this city. I love Detroit. It's why I want to be a part of this team in the future."

He struck out in the first inning, struck out in the third inning, popped out in the fourth inning and drew a four-pitch walk in the seventh inning. In the seventh, Guardians right-hander Enyel De Los Santos didn't throw him a pitch inside the strike zone.

"I was kind of lost in the game because I couldn't focus," Cabrera said. "I tried to have a plan, but at the plate, I was swinging at everything. I wanted to do something, but that's not the way I hit. I made a mistake swinging at everything, but it was great."

Cabrera, who started as the designated hitter, played first base in the eighth inning, doing so for the first time since the 2021 season. The 40-year-old fielded a ground ball off the bat of Steven Kwan and touched first base to record the first out.

It was the final play of his 21-year MLB career.

"I was ready," Cabrera said. "I made a nice play, too."

After the groundout, Cabrera met his children on the field, took in all the cheers from the fans, shed plenty of tears and returned to the dugout. He hugged all of his teammates and coaches, too, before leaving the field.

The game stopped for Cabrera.

"Baseball is the best sport in the world," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "I love other sports. I love people that love other sports. But it's amazing what baseball can create. ... We surprised Miggy, which is very hard to do. He runs out (to first base) by himself, Kwan hits the ground ball, and then he beats Kwan to the base. I thought he was just going to run off the field."

The 12-time All-Star ended his playing career with a .306 batting average, 3,174 hits, 627 doubles, 511 home runs, 1,881 RBIs, 1,258 walks and 2,105 strikeouts in 2,797 games. He stepped to the plate 11,796 times over 21 seasons and posted a .900 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Cabrera won the World Series in 2003, AL MVP in 2012 and 2013, a Triple Crown in 2012 and four AL batting titles in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. He is one of three players — along with Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols — to collect at least 500 home runs, 600 doubles and 3,000 hits.

He played 2,077 games over 16 seasons with the Tigers.

"I'm lucky because I played 21 years in the big leagues," Cabrera said. "I played with love. I played hard. I'm going to miss it, but it is what it is. This is the end. I'm happy I played 21 seasons in the big leagues. At the end of the day, thank God."

A fellow Venezuelan

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, a fellow Venezuelan, allowed two runs (one earned run) on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings. The 30-year-old can opt out of his five-year, $77 million contract after the World Series and leave three years, $49 million on the table.

Rodriguez logged a 3.30 ERA in 26 starts this season. He racked up 143 strikeouts compared to 48 walks across 152⅔ innings.

"Today is about Miggy," Rodriguez said of his upcoming opt-out decision. "I'm just going to celebrate with him, and we'll see after that. We'll see tomorrow or the next day or whatever. It's all about him, and I want to keep it that way."

The Guardians scored against Rodriguez in the fourth and fifth inning. In the fifth, Tyler Freeman trimmed Cleveland's deficit to 3-2 with a solo home run to left field off Rodriguez's fastball.

He retired the final six batters he faced.

Rodriguez, who threw 64 of 94 pitches for strikes, used 52 four-seam fastballs (55.3%), 17 sliders (18.1%), 13 changeups (13.8%), seven cutters (7.4%) and five sinkers (5.3%). He generated nine whiffs and 16 called strikes.

"It was special to see," Rodriguez said. "I don't even know how to explain how I feel right now after everything I saw today. I felt like I had one of the best views of all of it. It was something special to see."

Scoring the runs

The Tigers scored one run apiece in the first, second and third innings.

A two-run fifth inning separated the gap.

Kerry Carpenter worked a seven-pitch walk against right-hander Lucas Giolito, and then Matt Vierling launched a hanging up-and-in changeup for a two-run home run to left field. The ball, hit with a 108.1 mph exit velocity, traveled 414 feet.

The home run from Vierling increased the Tigers' lead to 5-2. He finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, one home run and two RBIs, posting 21 doubles and 10 home runs in 134 games this season.

"You go your whole career, and these moments just don't happen very often, if ever," Hinch said. "I was talking to Riley Greene. He was like, 'I've never cried on the field before until today.' He had goosebumps. I'm like, 'In five years, you're going to listen to his (Hall of Fame) speech. In 10 years from now, you're going to tell more people that you played with one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time.' He is one of three (players) to do things. That just is unfathomable."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers grab second in AL Central with 5-2 win over Guardians