CLEVELAND — Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer in a five-run outburst before Detroit got an out, and the Cleveland Guardians unleashed their lights-out bullpen to complete a four-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Tigers in an AL Division Series opener on Saturday.
The big blow came against the first-ever postseason pitch thrown by Gainesville's Reese Olson. After that, however, the former North Hall standout settled down to go five innings, surrendering just two more hits, walking just one, and fanning four in relief of Tyler Holton, who did not retire a batter.
The Guardians sent nine batters to the plate in the first with Thomas' moon shot into the left-field bleachers opening the 5-0 lead. Cleveland became the first team in AL postseason history to score five runs before recording an out.
Steven Kwan got it rolling with a leadoff double against Tigers starter Tyler Holton (0-1) and Fry walked. José Ramírez followed with a hard hopper to third that Zach McKinstry misplayed for an error, allowing Kwan to score.
“I tried to make a play and I didn't. We ended up losing the game because of it,” said McKinstry, who put some of the blame on the grounds crew. “They watered the field before the game, but they didn't water it for the game and it took a weird hop.”
Josh Naylor's RBI single made it 2-0 and Hinch pulled Holton after just four batters to bring in Olson.
Thomas, who batted just .143 with 33 strikeouts in his first month with Cleveland after being acquired from the Nationals in July, made his first postseason at-bat with the Guardians unforgettable.
Thomas' shot — on his first career postseason swing — helped the Guardians cool off the Tigers, who stormed into the playoffs with a second-half surge before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wild-card round.
“It was electric,” said Thomas, who was injured during Washington's World Series run in 2019. “It was everything I had thought and more."
Tanner Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings before Guardians manager Stephen Vogt swung the door open to baseball's best bullpen to finish off the Tigers.
Cleveland's relievers combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings to finish and match the largest shutout victory margin in club postseason history. Detroit struck out 13 times and didn't get a runner past first in the final four innings.
The shutout was the worst in Detroit playoff history since Game 1 of the 1945 World Series.
“We're going to see a lot of this bullpen,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The more you look at them, hopefully, the more comfortable you get.”
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Skubal led the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228). The left-hander is expected to face Guardians RHP Matthew Boyd, who spent eight seasons with the Tigers and remains close friends with Skubal.
(Tom Withers of the Associated Press contributed to this article.)
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