Bieber dominates, Ramírez homers as Cleveland takes game one of wild-card series

Major League Baseball may regret having scheduled the Guardians-Rays opener in the 12:07 slot this year. The sellout crowd was electric at Progressive Field on Friday afternoon, and while Cleveland and Tampa Bay may not be the biggest markets, or draw the most national media attention, we may have seen the best pitching matchup of the postseason in the very first game.

This game had a little bit of everything – ace pitchers, great defense, power, and it wouldn’t be complete without a little bit of drama and controversy. And if MLB is still worried about pace of play, hopefully they were taking notes. We should all be thankful that the days of one-game wild-card matchups are gone, because any baseball fan should want more of this series.

Rays center fielder José Siri got the scoring started with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. Siri, acquired from Houston in a three-way trade that cost the Rays two pitching prospects – Jayden Murray to the Astros and Seth Johnson to the Orioles – hit just .241 with four home runs for the Rays after the deadline, but he did also hit a homer off Bieber when the two teams played on September 28.

The Guardians responded in the bottom of the inning when José Ramírez took Shane McClanahan deep for a two-run shot. Earlier in the at-bat, the Cleveland crowd had started a (weak) M-V-P! chant, but let’s be honest, that honor is going to Aaron Judge. In a moment of excitement, following an appeal at second base, the Rays used a highly unusual challenge to review whether Amed Rosario had touched second base. The replay crew in New York confirmed the call and that was all the scoring the Guardians needed.

1. The pitching is everything we could have asked for

Bieber looked sharp from the very start, striking out two in the first to fire up a sold-out crowd at Progressive Field. After Ramírez gave the Guardians the lead in the sixth, Bieber shut down the Rays, starting a 1-2-3 inning with huge back-to-back strikeouts of Randy Arozarena and Harold Ramírez. Bieber’s final line was 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 K, and when he finally seemed to tire slightly in the eighth, closer Emmanuel Clase came in, got Siri to line out to third, and slammed the door in the ninth for his first save of the 2022 postseason. If Cleveland is going to make a run, it will be on the back of dominant pitching like this.

McClanahan worked around trouble frequently, with the Guardians threatening in the first, third, and fourth innings. However, thanks to multiple inning-ending double plays, he was able to keep his pitch count down and work deeper in this game than he has since August 19, ending his day with 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 K and a tough loss.

2. Cleveland’s defense is for real – and it might be a game-changer

The outfield defense has been lauded for much of the season, but it was the Guardians’ young infield who set the tone early on. Andrés Giménez made a gorgeous play on a ball that knocked him over on the very first batter of the game. And Cleveland ended the second with a beautiful double play that erased the first baserunner that Bieber allowed when he walked Ji-Man Choi.

3. Tampa Bay needs a spark, desperately

Tampa came into playoffs on a five-game losing streak, and just when it started to look like they had a glimmer of hope, the Guardians did what they have all season and came roaring right back. Siri’s home run seemed to take some of the energy out of the afternoon crowd in Cleveland, but that only lasted a few minutes. A three-game series is short, and they need to come out strong Saturday and jump on Triston McKenzie if they want to right the ship.