MLB

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians

· ALDS - Game 1
Detroit Tigers
86-76, 43-38 Away
Final
0 - 7
Cleveland Guardians
92-69, 50-30 Home

Lane Thomas hits 3-run homer, Cleveland's bullpen torments Tigers as Guardians win ALDS opener 7-0

Thomas' shot — on his first career postseason swing — helped the Guardians cool off the Tigers, who stormed into the playoffs with a second-half surge before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wild-card round.

“It was electric,” said Thomas, acquired from Washington at the trade deadline. “It was everything I had thought and more."

Tanner Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings before Guardians manager Stephen Vogt swung the door open to baseball's best bullpen to finish off the Tigers.

Cleveland's relievers combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings to finish and match the largest shutout victory margin in club postseason history. Detroit struck out 13 times and didn't get a runner past first in the final four innings.

The shutout was the worst in Detroit playoff history since Game 1 of the 1945 World Series.

“We're going to see a lot of this bullpen,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The more you look at them, hopefully, the more comfortable you get.”

Cleveland's bullpen was as advertised. Rookie Cade Smith (1-0) replaced Bibee and struck out all four batters. Tim Herrin took care of the seventh, Hunter Gaddis the eighth, and Emmanuel Clase, who led the AL with 47 saves, worked the ninth.

David Fry added a two-run double for the AL Central champion Guardians, who were unaffected by not playing for almost a week with a first-round bye.

“We came out ready to swing the bat, and we looked like we didn’t take five days off,” Vogt said.

Game 2 is Monday, when the Tigers will turn to Tarik Skubal, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award, to try and even the best-of-five series.

The 2,327th meeting between Detroit and Cleveland was the first between the franchises and Central division rivals in the postseason.

It was as good as over after one inning.

Hinch has made the right decisions for months as his young club went from being under .500 at the trade deadline to qualifying for the postseason with a 33-13 flourish since Aug. 11.

Hinch used his bullpen in Game 1 from the start and it backfired.

The Guardians sent nine batters to the plate in the first with Thomas' moon shot into the left-field bleachers opening the 5-0 lead. Cleveland became the first team in AL postseason history to score five runs before recording an out.

Steven Kwan got it rolling with a leadoff double against Tigers starter Tyler Holton (0-1) and Fry walked. José Ramírez followed with a hard hopper to third that Zach McKinstry misplayed for an error, allowing Kwan to score.

“I tried to make a play and I didn't. We ended up losing the game because of it,” said McKinstry, who put some of the blame on the grounds crew. “They watered the field before the game, but they didn't water it for the game and it took a weird hop.”

Josh Naylor's RBI single made it 2-0 and Hinch pulled Holton after just four batters to bring in Reese Olson.

Thomas, who batted just .143 with 33 strikeouts in 77 at-bats after coming over from the Nationals, made his first postseason at-bat with the Guardians unforgettable.

He turned on Olson's first pitch — a slider down the heart of the plate — and launched it over the wall, sending the majority of 33,548 fans inside Progressive Field into a frenzy.

Bibee admitted feeling nerves ahead of the opener, and he showed some in the first, throwing 27 pitches.

But taking the mound in the second with a five-run lead helped Bibee settle in. The right-hander gave up four hits and struck out six before handing the ball to Vogt and a bullpen with no detectable flaws.

“I totally get it,” Bibee said. “With how good our pen has been, I get it. It makes sense. Obviously, I want to stay out there as long as possible, but I get it.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb, a candidate to start Game 3, was added to the ALDS roster after finishing the regular season on the injured list with a blister on his middle finger. He made just three starts after being acquired in a July trade from San Francisco.

UP NEXT

Skubal led the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228). The left-hander is expected to face Guardians RHP Matthew Boyd, who spent eight seasons with the Tigers and remains close friends with Skubal.

Correction: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

How can I watch Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians?
  • TV Channel: Tigers at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on TBS.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 57.4%
Tigers: 42.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Keith flied out to left.
9th Inning Greene grounded out to second.
9th Inning Vierling struck out swinging.
9th Inning Clase relieved Gaddis
9th Inning Manzardo as designated hitter.
8th Inning Manzardo struck out swinging.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
1 Hit By Pitch 1
6 Ground Balls 11
13 Strikeouts 8
0 Runs Batted In 7
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
4 Hits 8
0 Stolen Bases 2
2 Walks 5
0 Catcher Interference 0
0 Runs 7
2 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
29 At Bats 32
0 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
11 Runners Left On Base 18
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 1
1 Doubles 4
10 Fly Balls 13
0 Caught Stealing 0
124 Pitches 153
0 Games Started 0
2 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
5 Total Bases 15
32 Plate Appearances 38
0.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
1 Extra Base Hits 5
0.0 Runs Created 6.3
.138 Batting Average .250
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.172 Slugging Percentage .469
.103 Secondary Average .438
.219 On Base Percentage .368
.391 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .837
0.6 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.8
0.0 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 7.1
6.0 Batter Rating 49.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 32.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
3.88 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.03
.034 Isolated Power .219
0.15 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.63
.063 Walks Per Plate Appearance .132
-.034 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .188
0.0 Runs Produced 14.0
0.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.6
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.3
59.3 MLB Rating 90.0
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Progressive Field

Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 33,548 | Capacity:

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2
Full Standings