The Guardians completed their comeback from down 2-1 in their best-of-five ALDS against the Tigers on Saturday with a 7-3 Game 5 win.
With the win, the Guardians advance to the ALCS, where they will play the Yankees beginning Monday night in New York.
Here are five takeaways from the Guardians victory in the winner-take-all game.
Outfielder Lane Thomas becomes Guardians hero
Thomas didn’t do much in the regular season for Cleveland after being traded from the Nationals in late July. In 53 games, Thomas hit .204 with seven home runs.
He would have been few peoples’ pick for Guardians breakout star during the playoffs, but that’s what he became with his fifth-inning grand slam off of the presumptive AL Cy Young favorite, Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal.
It was the first home run allowed by Skubal in a month and the second this postseason by Thomas, who also hit one in the first inning of Game 1.
He added an infield hit in the seventh inning to drive in an insurance run that put the Guardians up three runs, 6-3.
Tarik Skubal plays with fire
Thomas’ home run was Cleveland’s second opportunity with the bases loaded. In the third inning, Skubal escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Thomas out on a pop-up at first.
He didn’t have nearly the same luck in the fifth, hitting third baseman Jose Ramirez before allowing Thomas’ grand slam.
If it weren’t for that one pitch to Thomas, Skubal’s outing may have ended much differently. However, after playing with fire in two of his first five innings, it may have only been a matter of time before Skubal was burned.
Steven Kwan’s incredible postseason continues
Kwan has set the tone for Cleveland at the top of the lineup. After his 3-of-5 performance in Game 5, the Guardians outfielder is batting .524 this postseason with a .591 on-base percentage in 21 at-bats.
When it mattered most — In Cleveland’s wins in Games 4 and 5 to stave off elimination — Kwan was 6-of-10 while scoring four runs.
Aggressive Tigers rewarded… and punished
Detroit’s aggressiveness at the plate was a blessing and curse. Pinch hitter Kerry Carpenter had the green light on a 3-0 count in the top of the fifth, resulting in a base hit that scored shortstop Trey Sweeney from first base. Carpenter drilled a 96 mph fastball from Guardians reliever Andrew Walters to right-center and Sweeney sped all the way from first to score, reaching home on a slide before Guardians catcher Bo Naylor applied the tag.
But the aggressive approach also backfired as Detroit struck out 16 times, including seven times with a runner in scoring position. With better plate discipline, the Tigers may have been able to further wear down the Guardians bullpen before it was able to turn to shutdown closer Emmanuel Clase for a six-out save.
Red carpet laid out for Yankees on road to World Series
New York couldn’t have planned the ALDS more perfectly. The Guardians needed eight pitchers to get through Game 5 against the Tigers. With only one day of rest before the ALCS begins on Monday, manager Stephen Vogt must be creative in putting his staff in the best position to succeed against the Yankees’ loaded lineup, led by AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge and outfielder Juan Soto.
The Yankees bullpen has also been the best in baseball in October, not allowing a run in 15 2/3 innings. (h/t FanGraphs)
As ecstatic as Cleveland must be to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2016, that celebration will likely be short-lived.