CLEVELAND — One week ago today, Lane Thomas got the American League Division Series started with a first-inning three-run homer, helping power the Guardians to a 7-0 win in Game 1.
Could he possibly top that in his first career postseason? All of Cleveland now knows the answer.
Facing AL Cy Young front-runner Tarik Skubal in the fifth inning of Game 5 Saturday, Thomas came up with the bases loaded and drove the first pitch he saw into the left-field bleachers, not far from the spot where his series-opening blast had landed. The improbable grand slam but the Guardians up 5-1, en route to a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS' decisive matchup.
Thomas' heroics sent a nervous Progressive field crowd into absolute bedlam, and the team's dynamite bullpen eventually held on to send Cleveland to the AL Championship Series for the sixth time in club history. The opponent will be the powerful New York Yankees, who knocked the Guards out of the playoffs during their last two trips.
After winning a dramatic Game 4 in Detroit — their first victory in a do-or-die playoff game in 27 years — the Guardians knew they would have to face Skubal, who shut them down with seven scoreless innings in Game 2. It was more of the same early in Game 5, with the dominant left-hander tossing a shutout through 4 1/3 and extending his personal scoreless streak to 28 2/3 dating back to the regular season.
But down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Cleveland finally found a crack in Skubal's armor, with Andrés Giménez getting the rally going with a leadoff single. Steven Kwan followed a Brayan Rocchio strikeout with a base hit of his own, and Game 4 hero David Fry subsequently loaded the bases with a slow infield knock to second.
That brought Guardians superstar José Ramírez to the dish with a chance for a big blow, but instead, Skubal hit him on the arm with a 100 mph sinker. The stadium held its collective breath as Ramírez winced in pain, but the indispensable third baseman toughed it out, and walked to first base with an RBI that tied the game at one.
Thomas' homer immediately followed, and he later drove in another run with an infield single in the seventh to finish the series with nine RBIs. The 29-year-old outfielder had struggled in August after being acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, but found his form and did what the organization had wanted when they brought him here: get big hits in big spots.
With the offense breaking through against Skubal, it was up to the pitching staff to maintain the lead. Manager Stephen Vogt put himself in a precarious spot, though, pulling starter Matthew Boyd after only two innings before using young flamethrower Cade Smith for 1 2/3 in the third and fourth. That meant other relievers besides the squad's "big four" would have to come through in the clutch.
Rookie Erik Sabrowski was the first, retiring Jake Rogers to end the Tigers' fourth-inning threat. Unfortunately, Andrew Walters was not able to keep Detroit off the board, serving up an RBI single off the wall to Kerry Carpenter that made it 1-0 Tigers in the fifth. Carpenter was unable to run after tweaking his hamstring in Game 4, but his bat was still able to provide some pop after coming off the bench in the designated hitter spot.
Even after the Guards gave themselves a four-run cushion, some of the top guns in the pen did not have their best stuff. In the sixth, the Tigers were able to load the bases against Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis with two out before Rogers lined Spencer Torkelson home to make it 5-2. Vogt tried to get another inning out of Gaddis, but the righty struggled, and Eli Morgan entered with the tying run up after a Colt Keith RBI double.
Despite an impressive season ERA of 1.93, Morgan has rarely been called on in high-leverage situations. In the biggest game of his career, however, he got the job done, striking out Wenceel Pérez and Torkelson to end the inning.
The Guardians were able to get some insurance both from Thomas' single as well as a knock from Rocchio in the eighth. The rookie Rocchio, who batted only .206 on the year, hit .375 in the division series and also made a great leaping catch in the eighth.
Also charging the offense? The leadoff man Kwan, who had three more hits Saturday to finish the series with 11, with an unbelievable .524 average and six runs scored. His 10-game postseason hitting streak dating back to 2022 ties the franchise record held by Kenny Lofton.
As has been the case for the entire year, it was Emmanuel Clase who finished the job. The sure-fire Reliever of the Year following up his five-out save Thursday with a six-out effort Saturday, retiring all six batters he faced.
The Game 5 triumph is just the Guardians' second in a winner-take-all postseason game, snapping an eight-game skid that also began back in 1997. Their only prior victory under these circumstances came in Game 5 of that year's ALDS against... the Yankees.
Speaking of the Bronx Bombers, this will be the seventh postseason meeting between Cleveland and New York, with the Yanks taking four of the previous six including the last three straight. The most recent showdown came just two years ago in the division series, when the Guards fell in five games.
Game 1 of the ALCS is set for Monday night at Yankee Stadium. Neither side has named a starting pitcher as of yet.
