The pendulum has officially swung, and its current direction has put the Guardians' season at risk.
Cleveland fell to Detroit 3-0 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series Wednesday afternoon at Comerica Park, giving the Tigers a two games to one lead in the best-of-five matchup. The Guards now face a must-win situation Thursday just to avoid elimination, with the offense in desperate need of a jolt.
Dating back to the seventh inning of Game 1, Stephen Vogt's club has now gone 20 straight innings without scoring a run. Cleveland hitters certainly had their chances today, but went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, with Detroit's parade of relievers slamming the door every time.
The final climax came in the bottom of the seventh, when the Guardians put two men on with two men out down 3-0 with David Fry up and José Ramírez on deck. Fry hit a screamer that looked destined for the left-field line, but Tigers third baseman Matt Vierling made an incredible leaping catch to snuff the rally and save at least a pair of runs.
For that moment, a Cleveland defeat felt all but inevitable, even if the bullpen did its best to keep the team in striking distance. At the end of the day, the Guardians' big bats just didn't produce, with Fry, Ramírez, Josh Naylor, and Lane Thomas combining to go 2 for 14.
Detroit actually had only five hits compared to Cleveland's six, but a "small ball" approach proved effective. Facing Alex Cobb as he made his first start for the Guards in more than a month, Parker Meadows led off the afternoon with a single and advanced on a ground ball out, before coming home on Riley Greene's line-drive single to center field.
A bit of insurance came in the third when a Vierling fly ball to Steven Kwan plated Jake Rogers. In the sixth, reliever Eli Morgan's wild pitch put Colt Keith at second before Spencer Torkelson drove him in with a liner to the left-field wall.
Even without Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on the mound, the 3-0 deficit seemed insurmountable for the Guardians on this day. Still, there were multiple opportunities to make it a battle, and Vogt showed he was willing to be aggressive to do so.
Righty Keider Montero started for Detroit as the "opener" and was pulled after only six pitches in a scoreless first, giving way to lefty "bulk man" Brant Hurter. At first the Guards took advantage by putting two on with no one out down 1-0, and after Andrés Giménez flew out, Vogt decided to sub out right fielder Will Brennan in favor of Jhonkensy Noel to face the southpaw.
The early move did not pay off, with Noel flying out to Meadows and Bo Naylor lining out to right fielder Wenceel Pérez.
A similar situation arose in the third with Kwan on second and one out, and Vogt again chose to pinch hit Fry for the lefty Kyle Manzardo against Hurter. Again, it backfired, with Fry striking out looking, Ramírez being intentionally walked, and Josh Naylor grounding out to end the threat.
There was more pain in the fifth, with two on and one out and Hurter giving way to righty Beau Brieske with Fry and Ramírez due up. No longer with the platoon advantage, Fry went down swinging this time, and the superstar Ramírez hitting a lazy fly to center.
Brieske would eventually be awarded the win with three punchouts over two scoreless innings. Right-hander Will Vest was also brought in to face Fry in the eighth, getting him to line out on the grab by Vierling.
The Tigers, who surged late in the year to sneak in as the AL's last wild-card team, are 20-7 dating back to Sept. 5. Wednesday marked the first postseason game in Detroit since 2014, and the sellout crowd of 44,885 was the largest in Comerica Park's playoff history that began in 2006.
Now, the Guardians have to win two in a row in order to advance, and must also go against a dubious track record to do so. Dating back to the fateful Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, Cleveland is a wretched 5-23 in postseason elimination games. In games where the team itself is facing elimination (i.e. "win now or the season is over"), that record is as bad as it could be: 0-11.
Guards ace Tanner Bibee will get the start in Game 4 after going 4 2/3 shutout innings in Game 1. True to form, the Tigers have yet to name a starter for Thursday evening.
