Tiger fans partied early and reveled late Wednesday as the home team shut out the Cleveland Guardians to cap off a daylong celebration marking the return of playoff baseball.

As a postseaon record crowd of 44,885 fans inside Comerica Park stood and counted down the outs in the ninth inning, fans outside clung to the stadium fencing on Adams Street, craning to catch a glimpse of victory.

"When we went up 3-0, it was pretty much destined for Detroit to win," said Detroit native Robert Walton, 42, as he walked out of the park. "I think this is very big for the city. I think it's great. It's a good look so I'm glad it's happening."

Will he be back for Game 4?

"If I can get a babysitter," he said.

As the park emptied, some fans headed home, but plenty of others hit the downtown bars to keep the celebration going. It was a party that started hours before the first pitch.

Downtown was a sea of blue and orange as fans partied from Corktown to Comerica Park and lots of places in between. Even the weather cooperated with cloudless skies and temperatures in the 60s.

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The Old English D peered down from atop the Renaissance Center as music blasted from speakers around town. People with drinks in hand, smiled, danced, and mugged for selfies with Paws, the Tigers' mascot.

Preachers and pot

Sidewalk preachers and Jehovah's Witnesses made their pitches to fans as well.

Planes flew over the stadium, several advertising marijuana — in no short supply, given the smells wafting through the crowd.

Moments after the Tigers took an early 1-0 lead, the sounds of bats cracking and baseballs hitting mitts echoed off the buildings near the corner Michigan and Trumbull, where the Tigers played for more than century, before moving to Comerica Park.

The Schoolcraft College Ocelots baseball team practices at Corner Ballpark, the smaller field erected on what was once old Tiger Stadium. Coaches worked with pitchers on the side, a few players hit balls off a tee and several people hit live pitching in a version of a simulated game. Everyone appeared attentive, but they were all conscious of the game down the road.

"Three more outs," yelled one player from a dugout, as others ran back onto the field. "Let's go, get home and watch the Tigers game."

Tiger fans sensed the importance of the moment and took pains to be part of it.

Randy Tolsma, of Grand Rapids, came to the game with his 70-year-old dad, Bill, from North Muskegon. The pair had never attended a playoff game together so they spent $1,000 on two seats behind the Tigers dugout and drove 3½ hours to Detroit.

“You take opportunity like this when you can,” said the elder Tolsma, a retired telecommunications worker who said Al Kaline was his Tiger.

The younger Tolsma is a kitchen manager who canceled his cable television subscription earlier this year in frustration with the Tigers' struggles then.

"I ate my words," he said. "I’m a Tigers fan, through and through.”

He still has no cable. He watches the Tigers on the the MLB app on his phone.

The Sowle family of Grand Rapids drove across the state as well after shelling out $775 for four tickets to the game.

It was worth it, said Mike Sowle, a police officer who worked as a Detroit cop earlier in his career.

"It's a memory," he said.

Sowle was thrilled to be back in Detroit, but his 8-year-old son, Nolan, was positively giddy.

"He watched nearly every single game, even when it was hopeless," said the boy's mom, Jen Sowle, who recalled her son's obsession with the team. No matter where they were over the summer, she said, Nolan insisted they find a radio or a TV to tune into the game — even when the family was camping. The whole family rallied behind the team: mom, dad, and Nolan's 11-year-old brother, James.

Other visitors had shorter commutes.

Keith Woolfolk, 63, of Detroit, has been a loyal Detroit Tigers fan since 1969 and came out to see his long-awaited playoffs.

"No matter what record they have, the people still support them, so I'm really proud of Detroit's fan base," Woolfolk said.

Margaret Stanhouse, a 61-year-old dentist from Romulus, took the day off to watch her beloved Tigers because she and her husband, Charles Stanhouse, have a philosophy when it comes to watching the Tigers — never leave early.

"If you leave a game early, shame on you," she said.

Adam Abraham, of Grosse Pointe Park, found himself in a precarious position before the game. He didn't have any Tigers swag to wear. That's because he used to play for Cleveland.

You read that right.

Abraham, who played baseball for the University of Michigan, got drafted by the then-Indians in 2008. He stayed with the team almost eight years but insisted "I'm a Tigers fan."

"I just feel like they are defying statistics," he said. "Everything about them is a statistical anomaly in baseball history."

He cheered for the Tigers on Wednesday alongside his wife, Lindsey, who is expecting their third child in November and plans to watch Thursday's game on TV at home with his kids.

As for his game gear, Abraham end up borrowing a navy, Tigers quarter-zip pullover from a friend to wear to the ballpark.

"Now I have to buy some Tigers (wear)," he said.

Not everyone was lucky enough to score tickets to the game. But that didn't stop them from heading downtown anyway to revel in the festivities.

Carter James, a 13-year-old travel baseball player from Belleville, had the day off school. So his dad brought him downtown at noon to witness the pregame pandemonium.

Dad said he took a few hours off work so that his son could experience the thrill of Tigermania, and he planned to return home so the pair could watch the game on TV.

Carter said it felt great to be among all the fans outside Comerica Park, especially after witnessing Kerry Carpenter's home run Monday. Carter watched it on TV, alone — and was so thrilled he threw an object across the room.

"I almost broke the TV!" he said, smiling.

Contact John Wisely: jwisely@freepress.com. On X @jwisely. 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers playoff baseball brings a party to downtown Detroit