Cleveland Guardians Proved Their Strength Knocking Off Gritty Tigers

With the second-best record in the American League and 92 wins this season, the Cleveland Guardians found themselves with a bye to the ALDS, and ultimately a date with their AL Central division rivals: the Detroit Tigers.

And after a dominant 7-0 win in Game 1, Cleveland looked to be in the driver’s seat for the rest of the series.

As baseball always seems to remind us though, expectations aren’t always reality. After shutout losses in both Game 2 and 3, the Guardians faced elimination on the road in the Motor City.

But after a miraculous comeback win in Game 4, the Guardians booked themselves a date to close out the series in a winner-take-all game back in the friendly and familiar confines of Progressive Field.

And that’s exactly what they managed to do after some unthinkable middle inning magic when the presumptive AL Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, loaded the bases and then plunked José Ramírez to bring in a run, and then served up a grand slam to Lane Thomas to put this game out of reach.

Cleveland has now set themselves up for a series with New York Yankees in the ALCS, marking a rematch of the 2022 ALDS.

After a Mid-Series Blip, the Guardians Bats Came Alive When it Mattered Most

Cleveland showed how lethal an offense they can have after they jumped all over Tyler Holton and Reese Olson in a five-run first inning outburst in Game 1, led by a three-run home run from Thomas.

But even though they may have built up an insurmountable lead in the opening game, the Guardians’ bats went virtually silent after that. In the 26-inning span from the second inning of Game 1 to the first inning of Game 4, they only managed to scratch two runs across, both coming in the sixth inning of the series’ opening game.

Once Cleveland’s franchise cornerstone in Ramírez was able to able collect his first hit of the series via a Game 4 fifth inning solo homer, followed by some late-game heroics with a two-run home run in the seventh inning, followed by a ninth-inning sac-bunt RBI, all from David Fry, the Guardians seemed to put a stamp on the fact that their offense was back.

And a seven-run outburst in Game 4, led most notably by the aforementioned grand slam from Lane Thomas, gives Cleveland’s bats plenty of momentum heading into the Bronx to go toe-to-toe with that well-known, high-flying Yankee offense.

What will give manager Stephen Vogt and co. even more confidence heading into the ALCS is how well-rounded their offense has been this postseason when it’s clicking.

Two of their “big three” have been formidable forces all series long. Josh Naylor hit safely in the first four games of the series, including an all important RBI-single in the first inning of Game 1. And Steven Kwan had an ALDS for the ages posting a .524 AVG and a 1.136 OPS in the five-game set.

And the third and most prolific member of that trio, Ramírez, will be heading into the ALCS on a bit of a heater, having hit safely while driving in a run in each of the last two games.

We all know how good of a hitter Ramírez can be when he’s seeing the ball well, as made evident by his near 40/40 season in 2024, so getting him hot when the pennant is on the line could prove to be a difference-maker.

The supporting cast in that lineup seemed to be lifeblood of this Guardians offense.

We’ve already touched upon the contributions from Cleveland’s key trade deadline acquisition in Thomas, with his two homers that broke Games 1 and 4 wide open. For the series, he went 6-for-19 with two homers and 9 RBIs. And like Ramírez he’s entering the ALCS in his best form, coming off back-to-back multi-hit games.

And key hits from guys like Fry, the hero of the series-saving win in Game 4, Brayan Rocchio, who’s riding a five-game hit streak to start this postseason, and Andrés Giménez who came in to score twice off two hits in Game 5, speaks volumes to how deep this Guardians lineup can be and just how many different ways they can beat whichever opponent is in front of them.

Starting Pitching Was Good, But the Bullpen Stole the Show

Everyone who follows MLB has become aware of the force that is the Guardians’ bullpen and their “formidable four” of Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, and arguably the league’s best closer in Emmanuel Clase.

But their top two starting pitching options need to be applauded for their efforts.

It should be noted that two of the Guardians three wins came in Tanner Bibee starts. And in those starts Bibee pitched admirably despite not going long enough to qualify for the win.

Matthew Boyd also put together two solid outings when he was called upon in Games 2 and 5, building off a solid 2024 season in the eight regular season starts he had since returning from injury in August.

But at the end of the day, it was that world-class bullpen that saw Cleveland through to the series win.

And this relief corps was leaned upon heavily, with the 4.2-inning starts from Bibee and Boyd in Games 1 and 2 being the longest outings from any Guardians starter this series.

In 25.2 innings of work, Cleveland’s ‘pen struck out 37 opposing hitters while surrendering nine earned runs on 18 hits and 11 walks. And it’s important to remember four of those hits and three of those runs came from a big Tiger ninth inning in Game 2 where Kerry Carpenter launched a three-run homer off Clase.

Despite his rough night in Game 2, Clase was still relied upon to lead the line as the anchor of this bullpen, and he certainly lived up to the hype overall in his four outings.

Smith continued to look like one of the league’s most dominant relievers. He appeared in every game this ALDS. In 6.1 innings he struck out 12 while giving up just 1 earned run off two hits and one walk.

Other than a three-hit blip in his Game 5 outing, Gaddis had himself a strong series as well. In four innings of work, he surrendered just one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out six.

And we can’t forget the work Herrin put in this series. Like Smith, Herrin also appeared in all five games, and in four innings of work in those five games, he gave up just one earned run.

With solid showings this ALDS from other bullpen arms like Eli Morgan, Andrew Walters, and Erik Sabrowski, the Guardians are looking far deeper than just their main four names, which will allow Vogt to continue to get creative on the mound as he sees fit moving forward, especially when the next two rounds expand to the best-of-seven format.

So What’s Next for Cleveland?

As the postseason shifts to the championship series rounds, the ALCS will be a battle of the best as the Guardians and the Yankees kick off the quest for the American League Pennant on Monday night.

Cleveland’s offense will certainly face a vastly different style of pitching from what the “pitching chaos” they saw with Detroit. The Yankees are made up of more traditional starters like Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil, and a more rigidly formed bullpen with Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver doing the bulk of the work in the back-end.

But seeing how the Guardians were able to get to the MLB’s best starter this year in Skubal, in Game 5, as well as how they strung together solid offense against the Tigers’ bullpen in their three wins, there’s definitely momentum to build off in Cleveland moving forward.

When it comes to neutralizing the Yankees offense, the task will be far different than the consistently-changing lineup Detroit employed, as the Yankees are led by the likes of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton.

It will take Bibee and Boyd to continue their solid starting form. Alex Cobb will need to build on his mediocre 3.0 inning, two-run outing in Game 3. And other starting options like Joey Cantillo, Ben Lively and Gavin Williams will need to do their part when called upon as this series expands to a best-of-seven.

All of these things will be crucial in ensuring Cleveland’s heavily relied upon bullpen is protected to handle the longer series against a loaded Yankee lineup.

New York has immense star power and the AL’s best record under their belt. But after winning 92 games this season and clawing their way back to claim victory over a hard-fought ALDS, this Guardians team is nothing to slouch at. We are in store for a battle of the titans for the AL Pennant.