Guardians grand slam their way to a Game 5 victory over Tigers, head to ALCS
By The Athletic
CLEVELAND – Lane Thomas started the American League Division Series with a three-run homer to left field at Cleveland’s Progressive Field in Game 1. He punctuated the series and punched Cleveland’s ticket to the American League Championship Series with a grand slam to a similar spot, which fueled a 7-3 Guardians win in a decisive Game 5.
Thomas, a July trade acquisition, broke a 1-1 tie with a frenzy-inducing blast on a 97 mph sinker from Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who had again silenced Cleveland’s bats before a bad fifth inning.
The Guardians emerged from a high-tension, in-division battle and will head to Yankee Stadium for a best-of-seven series between the top two seeds in the American League. Skubal and a heavy dose of pitching chaos transformed the Tigers from trade deadline sellers into AL juggernauts, but their season ended with a pair of losses to the Guardians that each swung on one well-timed blast to the left-field seats.
Designated hitter David Fry kept Cleveland’s postseason hopes flickering with a two-run shot in the seventh inning of Game 4 at Comerica Park. Thomas supplied the knockout blow in Game 5.
The Guardians loaded the bases with three singles in the fifth, which set up Skubal against José Ramírez in a clash of two of the league’s top stars. Skubal struck Ramírez in the hand with a 99.9-mph fastball, which forced in the tying run. Thomas unloaded on the next pitch.
Guardians use nine pitchers
Matthew Boyd started Game 5 against his former team. He struck out five and threw the fastest heater (94.9 mph) he’s tossed since June 2021. But Guardians manager Stephen Vogt turned to his bullpen in the third, limiting Boyd to one turn through the Tigers’ order.
Cade Smith and Tim Herrin became the first Cleveland pitchers to appear in all five games of a division series. Smith’s 12 strikeouts in the series are the most by a reliever in MLB Division Series history. Erik Sabrowski and Andrew Walters, who were pitching for Triple-A Columbus two months ago, entered the most pressure-packed games of their lives. Walters allowed the game’s first run, but Herrin bailed him out with a double play before Cleveland’s offense unloaded in the bottom of the fifth. Eli Morgan (Gonzaga) relieved Hunter Gaddis in the seventh and recorded a couple of strikeouts to end a Tigers rally.