Emmanuel Clase secured the Cleveland Guardians’ Game 1 victory over the Detroit Tigers by getting Colt Keith to fly out, sealing a 7-0 win.
CLEVELAND — Teams that secure a bye into the division series often worry about facing rust in their first postseason game, but the Cleveland Guardians dispelled those concerns on Saturday. After a five-day break, the Guardians swiftly attacked the Tigers, scoring five runs in the opening inning and taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series.
“It was definitely a topic for a lot of the coaches, not to go in and just go through the motions,” said left fielder Steven Kwan regarding their preparation. “Try to be intentional. It worked out today.”
Kwan initiated the offensive display, narrowly missing a home run on the game’s first pitch but settling for a double. The Guardians swiftly dismantled the Tigers’ plan featuring an opener, as starter Tyler Holton failed to record an out. Right-hander Reese Olson followed but was immediately greeted by a first-pitch home run from Lane Thomas.
The five runs scored by the Guardians matched the franchise record for a playoff game’s first inning, according to ESPN Research.
“To the players’ credit, they put a ton of effort into our workouts,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “They got competitive with each other in some simulated games, and it showed. We came out ready to swing the bat, and we looked like we didn’t take five days off.”
The early run support was a boon for starter Tanner Bibee, who pitched 4⅔ scoreless innings and left to a standing ovation. He was backed by four relievers who collectively preserved the shutout, including rookie Cade Smith, who struck out all four batters he faced. The solid early lead made pitching much easier for the Guardians.
Designated hitter David Fry shared how the team maintained their readiness. “We had live at-bats all week, hitting off the machine, just different things that we could do to kind of stay ready, stay on top of velocity and that kind of thing,” he explained.
Fry later contributed with a two-run double in the sixth inning, further padding the Guardians’ lead. The team showcased a balanced offensive effort, tallying seven hits and five walks among eight starters.
“Living and dying by the home run is hard sometimes,” Kwan remarked. “Being able to manufacture runs in different ways was cool.”
The Guardians faced 153 pitches compared to the Tigers’ 124, but with an off day before Game 2, Detroit will have a fresh bullpen. The Tigers are set to start ace Tarik Skubal, who typically requires little assistance from relief pitchers, while Cleveland will rely on veteran Matthew Boyd.
“What Matthew has brought is just consistency,” Vogt said. “He’s been the same every time out. He’s attacked the zone. He’s got really good stuff, able to keep them off balance and really stabilized our rotation when we got him back healthy.”
Boyd returned from Tommy John surgery in August, having signed with Cleveland in June, and recorded a 2.72 ERA in eight regular-season starts. Now, he is poised to pitch in a playoff game.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I’d know I would be here,” Boyd admitted. “But this is what you work for. … Our coaches did a great job this week getting us ready.”
The week of practice proved beneficial not just for the hitters but for the pitchers as well, according to Boyd and others. The hard work was evident in Game 1, contributing to Cleveland’s early advantage in the series.
“They worked really hard over the course of this week to stay ready,” Vogt noted, “and for us to be able to come out and jump on them, it was just a huge day for all of our guys.”