José Ramírez
- By
AGENCIES - Date: 10/13/2024
CLEVELAND.-For the third time in less than a month, the Guardians formed a semicircle in the center of the locker room and threw beer and champagne at each other, while “Rocky Top” played over the speakers.
The Guardians are an October surprise.
Lane Thomas hit a grand slam off Tarik Skubal and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Saturday in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, advancing the Guardians to the postseason. face the New York Yankees.
Cleveland will face New York in the ALCS and there will be a duel between two teams that have met six times in October. The last time was in 2022 when the Yankees won the division series in five games.
The championship series begins Monday in the Bronx.
It’s Cleveland against the world.
“We will play against a Yankees team that is very good,†stressed Stephen Vogt, first-year manager of the Guardians. “We have seen them in the regular season. It’s one of the most talented teams in the league, so we know we’ll have to work.â€
Thomas had five RBIs for the Guardians, who did not expect to contend this season. But the team won a tough American League Central Division under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. Cleveland is still alive in its attempt to end its World Series title drought that dates back to 1948.
The Guardians had to beat Skubal, who is a candidate to win the AL Cy Young, to continue on their path. The left-hander had not allowed a run in 24 consecutive innings – 17 in the playoffs – before the Guardians added five in the fifth inning, the most he allowed in 2024.
And Cleveland did it with his well-known and brave style called “Guards Ball”, with three singles to load the bases before Skubal hit the Dominican Ramírez in the left hand to force in a run.
“That’s who we are,†Vogt said. “That’s what the group in that room has been all year. As soon as we receive the blow, we respond. That has been our motto all year – as soon as we receive a race, our boys recover immediately.
This brought Thomas to the plate, who hit a three-run homer in Cleveland’s 7-0 victory in the opener.
The center fielder, who struggled in his first month with the team after arriving in a July trade from the Washington Nationals, connected on Skubal’s first pitch and his drive cleared the fifteen-foot wall in left field.
When the ball dropped, the Guardians dugout emptied and they began to shout as the fans at Progressive Field exploded with joy.
As has been the case all season, Vogt relied on one of the best bullpens in the majors and made it clear that he had suffered wear and tear.
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