The Cleveland Guardians are not done yet. Clawing back from a seventh-inning deficit, the Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-3 in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.
Cleveland took the lead on a two-out, two-strike, two-run blast from David Fry in the seventh inning. Fry’s pinch-hit home run turned the tide in what had otherwise been a back-and-forth game and gave the Guardians new life just when it appeared their season was on the ropes.
Before the tension rose, the Guardians struck early, scoring a run on a Lane Thomas single and forcing Detroit starter Reese Olson to throw 27 pitches to start the first inning. For the Tigers, Olson went four innings and functioned as a traditional starter despite the team’s patented “pitching chaos” approach that has carried them into October. Facing Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee, the Tigers evened the score in the second when Trey Sweeney hit a sacrifice fly to score Colt Keith.
José Ramírez put the Guardians ahead with a solo homer off Tyler Holton in the fifth, a line drive that left the bat at 109.9 mph. The blast was only Ramírez’s third homer run in 36 career playoff games. Not to be outdone, the Tigers answered when utility man Zach McKinstry hit an opposite-field homer to tie the game in bottom of the inning.
By the sixth, the Tigers pulled ahead via a pinch-hit RBI single from Wenceel Pérez. But just when it seemed the Tigers were destined for the ALCS, Fry’s homer altered the tone. Emmanuel Clase entered with one out in the eighth to extinguish a Tigers’ attempted rally.
The series heads back to Cleveland for the winner-takes-all Game 5 on Saturday.
Fry-day comes early
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was more patient with his pinch-hitting deployment in Game 4. Fry entered in the third inning in Game 3, and failed to deliver in three at-bats with a runner in scoring position. On Thursday, Fry replaced Kyle Manzardo with two outs in the seventh, which compelled Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to turn to right-hander Beau Brieske. Every data point would suggest that isn’t an ideal matchup for Fry. He fared much better against lefties (.996 OPS) than righties (.676 OPS) and even though he earned an improbable spot on the American League All-Star team in July, he hasn’t been as productive at the plate since suffering a right elbow injury in late June. Still, he hammered Brieske’s 98-mph heater through the brisk, autumn air to hand the Guardians the lead. Josh Naylor, who had emerged from the visitor’s dugout to take his spot in the on-deck circle after Fry’s at-bat, launched his lumber toward the sky in celebration. It marked the first go-ahead, pinch-hit home run in Cleveland postseason history.
Emmanuel Clase atones for his Game 2 misstep
Only once in the regular season did Clase log more than one inning in an appearance. On Aug. 20, he tossed two scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium. When he asked Vogt if he could return to the mound for a third, the manager told him: “Absolutely not.” Clase craves the spotlight, the pressure, the opportunity. He ranks at or near the top of the league in appearances every year. He has led the league in saves in each of the last three seasons. The plan was always to lean on him more in the postseason, with extra off-days sprinkled into the schedule and extra pressure riding on every pitch. He shut the door in Game 1 of the ALDS, but the Tigers got to him in Game 2, as Kerry Carpenter evened the series with a three-run blast in the ninth inning. Clase rescued Tim Herrin from disaster in Game 4 after Herrin allowed a pair of singles. Clase escaped the inning without harm and then closed out the ninth to send the series back to Cleveland for a decisive Game 5.
Kerry Carpenter leaves Game 4 with an apparent injury
Carpenter wheeled around third on Pérez’s sixth-inning single. But before he touched the plate, he slowed and grimaced. After touching the plate, Carpenter hopped off the field. An inning later, rookie Jace Jung hit in Carpenter’s place. There was no immediate word on Carpenter’s status, but if an injury forces Carpenter to miss Game 5, it could be a crucial blow to a team that has thrived with Carpenter’s bat in the order. The hero of ALDS Game 2, Carpenter had a 1.119 OPS when playing in Tigers wins during the regular season.
All eyes on Tarik Skubal for Game 5
Including the postseason, the Tigers are 23-10 on days Tarik Skubal pitches. If you had told this team before the series it could go to a Game 5 with Skubal on the mound, the Tigers would have taken it. Still, the Tigers narrowly won ALDS Game 2 despite a dominant seven innings from Skubal. If the Tigers wish to advance to the ALCS, they will need their ace to carry a heavy load again, and they will need a lineup that could be without Carpenter to support him. In a superb Triple Crown season, Skubal now readies for his biggest moment yet.
(Photo: AP Photo / Paul Sancya)
