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Detroit Tigers dump Cleveland Guardians to take 2-1 lead in ALDS

Vaseline October 9, 2024

Detroit — The Detroit Tigers, who received their last rites in early August, are now one win away from playing in the American League championship.

Believe it.

In front of the largest postseason crowd ever at Comerica Park (44,885), the Tigers seized control of this best-of-five American League Division Series on Wednesday, defeating the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in Game 3.

The Tigers, who haven’t played a home game since 2014 and haven’t won one since 2013, can clinch the series here on Thursday.

BOX SCORE: Tigers 3, Guardians 0

Manager AJ Hinch likes to call his pitching plans chaos. But on Wednesday it almost felt scripted. He worked his way through the Guardians’ lineup with six different pitchers, not only brilliantly playing up the left-right advantages but also showcasing the different pitching styles of the hitters.

Rookie Keider Montero threw a clean first inning of six pitches, but Hinch didn’t deviate from the script. He immediately went to left-hander Brant Hurter against what started as a batting order of eight lefties.

Hurter pitched 3.1 innings and by the time right-hander Beau Brieske retired six straight hitters, striking out three, the Tigers had gotten through six innings with a three-run lead. And to the point of the maneuvers, when Cleveland’s best hitter, Jose Ramirez, came to bat to open the seventh, he was facing his fourth different pitcher.

With two on and two outs in the fifth inning, Brieske, attacking at 80 mph, sent Ramirez flying to center.

Ramirez loomed on deck in the seventh inning when right-hander Will Vest pulled off possibly the biggest of the game.

The Guardians had two runners on base with one out with a walk and a single against lefty Sean Guenther. With right-hander David Fry on his way, Hinch called on Vest.

Vest came out warm. He threw six consecutive fastballs, all 97 and 98 mph, and with each ball, Fry got more and more on time. On the sixth, a two-seater, he hit a screamer, 100 miles per hour off the bat.

The crowd erupted when Vierling jumped up and grabbed the line drive to end the inning. Vierling and Vest also erupted, both shouting and stomping back to the dugout in triumph.

Vest pitched a clean eighth, retired Ramirez and got the ball to left-hander Tyler Holton in the ninth.

Holton opened Game 1 and was punted for four points. His redemption was a clean, stress-free save in the ninth.

Tigers pitchers have now thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings.

The Tigers scored single runs in the first, third and sixth inning.

Parker Meadows immediately brought the crowd to its feet, leading off the bottom of the first inning with a single off veteran starter Alex Cobb. He advanced to second base on a grounder and scored on a two-out single by Riley Greene.

It was Greene’s first RBI of the postseason.

Catcher Jake Rogers led off the third inning with a double into the left field corner and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Vierling.

In the sixth, two Tigers looking for their first playoff hits delivered. In an 0-for-11 rut, Colt Keith singled off reliever Eli Morgan and scored on a double by Spencer Torkelson. He was hitless in fourteen at bats and had struck out in his first two at bats on Wednesday.

What a chess match this was. Both managers were trading from the first inning.

It might have been tempting to stick with Montero, especially with right-handed hitter Lane Thomas on the way, but Hinch stuck to his original plan and went to Hurter to start the second inning.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt also pulled the strings early on. After Josh Naylor and Thomas singled to start the second inning, he used right-handed hitter Jhonkensy Noel to pinch-hit for left-handed Will Brennan.

Hurter responded and got three straight outs, including Noel on a flyout.

Vogt also went to his bench again in the third inning. With one out, leadoff hitter Steven Kwan ended up on second base (infield single and throwing error by short stop Trey Sweeney). He sent up right-handed hitter Fry for lefty Kyle Manzardo.

Hurter hit him as he watched.

With first base open and two outs, Hinch waved four fingers to give Ramirez his second intentional walk of the series.

Hurter made the strategy pay off by grounding out left-swinging Josh Naylor.

All that maneuvering in two and a half innings. Playoff baseball.

However, Vogt most likely adjusted his starting lineup to accommodate those early pinch hits. Brennan and Manzardo have mainly been used off the bench for the Guardians. He lined them up hoping they would get a few hits on the right wing Montero.

When that didn’t happen, it was an easy adjustment to use his regular right-handed hitters.

There was more matchup shenanigans in the Tigers’ half of the fifth inning.

Rogers, who had doubled in the third inning, led off the fifth with a walk against rookie lefty reliever Erik Sabrowski. With one out, Hinch sent right-handed Justyn-Henry Malloy to bat for left-swinging Kerry Carpenter.

Vogt countered with another left-handed reliever, a more experienced one, Tim Herrin.

Herrin walked Malloy, but got out of the inning without damage and retired Matt Vierling and Riley Greene on flyouts.

The moves left the Tigers without Carpenter’s bat against Cleveland’s three right-handed leverage relievers: Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase. The Tigers’ pitchers made that a moot point.

One win away from moving on.

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@cmccosky