By: BHS Sports Staff
October 10, 2024
The Cleveland Guardians, after finishing 76-86 in 2023, had a tremendous bounce-back season in which they went 92-69, en route to another AL Central Division Title. Many experts predicted that the Guardians would finish third or fourth in the division because of their youth and inexperience; however, this team showed a lot of perseverance throughout the regular season, led by first-year manager Stephen Vogt.
The pitching staff suffered an early blow when it was revealed that their ace, Shane Bieber, would have to undergo Tommy John surgery after only two starts in 2024. But, veteran pitchers such as Ben Lively and Matthew Boyd came in with big shoes to fill, and they delivered. With Bieber’s injury, current ace Tanner Bibee emerged as a legitimate ace, posting a 3.47 ERA in 31 starts.
They also have the undisputed, best bullpen in baseball with a 2.57 ERA led by Tim Herrin, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and of course, Emmanuel Clase, who led the AL with 47 saves and a 0.61 ERA.
On the offensive side, they are led by the amazing duo of Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor, who both passed the 100 RBI mark. Other major contributors to the lineup include Steven Kwan (who flirted with a .400 batting average in June), David Fry, Andres Gimenez, and Lane Thomas. Two rookies burst onto the scene, too, Jhonkensy Noel (Big Christmas) and Kyle Manzardo.
With all of this star power, the Guardians secured the two seed in the AL and clinched a bye to the ALDS. After the Detroit Tigers swept the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Round, the Guards had their matchup with Detroit.
Game one was an offensive frenzy in the first inning, as the Guardians scored five runs without recording an out, highlighted by a Lane Thomas three-run bomb. In the sixth inning, David Fry added a two-run double to complete the scoring. The pitching cruised through this game with Tanner Bibee going 4 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and the bullpen not allowing a hit for the remainder of the game. Cleveland cruised to a 7-0 shutout victory to take a 1-0 series lead.
However, they were faced with a tall task in game two, as they were up against Tigers ace and Cy Young candidate, Tarik Skubal. Both teams could not score as there were a lot of good defensive plays and dominant pitching performances from both sides. Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings, while Matthew Boyd and the Cleveland bullpen pitched eight scoreless frames.
After Detroit got back-to-back hits with two outs in the 9th, Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter hit a go-ahead, three-run home run off of Emmanuel Clase to put the Tigers in front, 3-0. This was the first time in Clase’s career that he gave up a three-run homer.
The Guardians went down in order in the bottom of the 9th, as the Tigers evened up the series at a game a piece.
In a pivotal game three for both teams, the Guardians continued their offensive struggles as the Tigers jumped ahead early on an RBI single in the first. Detroit added another run in the third with a sacrifice fly and scored again in the sixth on an RBI double. Even with many opportunities, Cleveland was still unable to score as their scoreless streak increased to 20 innings.
With the Tigers now up 2-1 in the best-of-five series, Cleveland faces elimination tonight in a vital Game four. Bibee will start for the Guardians. This team has shown resilience all year, so keep the faith, Guards fans! First pitch is at 6:08.
Around the league, the #6 seed New York Mets shocked the #2 seed Philadelphia Phillies, winning the series 3-1, as the Mets continue their amazing run to move on to the NLCS. The other NLDS matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres is tied at two games a piece after the Dodgers shut out the Padres last night to keep their season alive.
Back in the AL, the New York Yankees took a 2-1 series lead against the Kansas City Royals after Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead solo home run in the 8th to propel the Yankees to a 3-2 victory last night. Their Game four matchup will be tonight at 8:08.
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Let’s go, Guards!
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