By Zack Meisel and Cody Stavenhagen
CLEVELAND — Lane Thomas started the ALDS with a three-run homer to the left-field bleachers at Progressive Field in Game 1. He punctuated the series and punched Cleveland’s ticket to the ALCS 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 turned October hero, broke a 1-1 tie with a frenzy-inducing blast on a 97 mph sinker from Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who had once again silenced Cleveland’s bats before a nightmarish fifth inning.
The Guardians emerged from a high-tension, in-division battle and will head to Yankee Stadium for a best-of-seven brawl 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 very next pitch.
Lane Thomas proves the Guardians won the trade
Guardians catcher Austin Hedges stood on the dugout bench, turned toward Thomas and swung his elbows from side to side as a grin spread across his face. After a win, the team plays “Rocky Top” in the clubhouse, a nod to Thomas, a Tennessee native. It started as a way to welcome the midseason trade acquisition to the club. Now, it’s a staple, and it has Cleveland players dancing like wild, never more so than on Saturday afternoon, when Thomas launched his grand slam. Cleveland’s players spilled out of the dugout, some as far as the MLB postseason logo beside the third-base line.
The Guardians traded three prospects to the Washington Nationals for Thomas to help bolster an offensively challenged outfield. Thomas struggled mightily for the first month before returning to form in September. He connected on two of Cleveland’s three biggest swings in the series, with a first-inning, three-run blast in Game 1 and Saturday’s slam.
José Ramírez said he was unaware the Guardians had completed a trade.
“Tell me.”
“Lane Thomas.”
“From the…”
“Nationals.”
“Oh, OK, OK. Good player.”
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) July 30, 2024
Tarik Skubal led the Tigers until the wheels finally fell off
For 17 innings of postseason baseball, Skubal looked the part of an ace and a playoff hero. Then came Steven Kwan, a dribbler, a hit-by-pitch and one mistake that changed everything. Skubal pitched another gem through the first four innings Saturday in Cleveland. The fifth inning unraveled. His center-cut sinker to Thomas — his first real mistake of the entire postseason — doomed him.
GO DEEPER
Guardians’ Lane Thomas hits grand slam off Tarik Skubal in Game 5
If the Tigers had to lose, they can take some solace in losing like this. Their ace on the mound. Another teeth-grinding game. One pitch and four runs. Skubal’s mistake may have been the difference between the ALCS and elimination, between New York and vacation. The Tigers can still enter the winter knowing they have the best pitcher in baseball. He helped carry them further than they were ever supposed to go. As Beau Brieske said after his own crushing mistake in Game 4, “That’s the beauty and the beast of this game.”
Cleveland skipper Stephen Vogt pieced together nine innings with eight pitchers
Matthew Boyd started a winner-take-all game against his former team in a storybook script. He struck out five and threw the fastest heater (94.9 mph) he’s tossed since June 2021. But Vogt turned to his trusted bullpen in the third inning, limiting Boyd to one turn through the Tigers’ order.
GO DEEPER
For Tarik Skubal and Matthew Boyd, ALDS Game 2 is more than just a meeting between rivals
Cade Smith and Tim Herrin became the first Cleveland pitchers to ever 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 relieved Hunter Gaddis in the seventh and recorded a couple of strikeouts to end a Tigers rally.
(Top photo of Lane Thomas: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
