Cleveland Guardians advance to ALDS after marathon 1-0 victory over Rays

Guardians pitchers struck out 20 Rays in 15 innings, starting with eight from starter Triston McKenzie in his six innings of work, and ending with six from winning pitcher Hentges in his extended three innings. In total, eight Guardians pitchers combined to allow just six hits and five walks in 14 innings.

On a day where the Guardians pitchers dominated the Rays, and overwhelmed them every time they got in trouble, the only concern came in the tenth inning when right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin had to be removed from the game due to right upper arm tightness. Sandlin was a pivotal part of the Guardians’ bullpen this year, throwing 46 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. His recovery and status is something to watch closely as the ALDS approaches.

The Rays added 19 strikeouts of their own, including five from starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who was brilliant and efficient for five innings in just his third start back following Tommy John surgery. I wrote in the Game 2 preview that Tampa’s bullpen depth would be tested, and they nearly lived up to the challenge, holding Cleveland to just three hits in the final nine innings of the game.

Rays manager Kevin Cash took risks and seemed to pull the right strings at the right times all afternoon, going to closer Peter Fairbanks in the sixth inning, and then potential Game 3 starter Drew Rasmussen for 1 2/3 innings. In the end, despite their brilliance, the Rays were just outpitched by the Guardians.

The Guardians’ defense was spectacular this whole series. I mentioned in the Game 1 recap that their infield D was a difference-maker and could be a pivotal factor in this series. The entire team was involved in spectacular defense that supported Cleveland’s brilliant pitching throughout the game.

Guardians catcher Austin Hedges made an absolutely perfect throw to catch Manuel Margot stealing in the top of the seventh inning. Once again, we saw Cash take advantage of the extra challenge that teams are allotted in the postseason, and following a quick review the call was confirmed.

In the top of the tenth, after Sandlin left, Cleveland center fielder Myles Straw made a game-saving catch going far to his left and making a catch fully extended at a dead sprint in the right-center field gap. Straw had a disappointing start to this season offensively, not living up to expectations with the bat early in the season, but his value with the glove is undeniable.

In the top of the twelfth, José Ramírez made a difficult back-handed stop on a slowly hit bouncer from Margot. Ramírez then spun, threw off his back foot and made a one-hop throw to first that first baseman Josh Naylor scooped to end the inning. The Rays challenged the call on this play too, hoping to extend the inning and give them the lead, but the call on the field was upheld and the score remained tied.

Then in the top of the fourteenth, the Guardians turned a 4-3-6 double play when second baseman Andrés Giménez fielded a grounder and Rays runner Wander Franco had to stop to avoid being tagged out. Giménez threw to first to get the force out and Naylor then made a perfect throw to shortstop Amed Rosario, who tagged Franco for the second out.

Overall, the Guardians defense was brilliant behind their dominant pitching. Look for this to continue to be a pivotal and potentially deciding factor moving forward.

Three changes that MLB made for the postseason had significant impacts on this game and are things to watch in other wild-card series and/or as the postseason continues for the Guardians.

1. The ghost runner that MLB added in extra innings is not a rule in the postseason.

Extra-inning games in the regular season start with a ghost runner on second base. In the postseason, the rules revert back to what they had been previously. The ghost-runner rule significantly limited the number of games that went multiple extra-innings. Extra-inning games in the playoffs may tax bullpens in a way that teams have not prepared for due to the different rules they played with for the past six months.

2. Teams get two challenges in the postseason compared to just one in the regular season.

We saw Rays manager Kevin Cash take advantage of the extra challenge in Game 1. Saturday, we saw both Cash and Guardians manager Terry Francona be more aggressive with challenges. Both managers lost challenges that were either confirmed or upheld and still retained a second challenge. Expect teams to continue to be more aggressive on close plays, and ask for review on plays that during the regular season they would let go. We can also look forward to some potential gamesmanship on close plays where managers may use challenges to disrupt the flow of pitchers who have to wait through reviews from the replay teams in New York.

3. Shorter pitching staffs allow for expanded benches in a short three-game series.

Teams only have to worry about three starting pitchers in the wild-card series, and it makes sense to leave the pitcher who started the previous game off the roster, and shorten the bullpen to allow for an expanded bench. The Guardians took advantage of this rule by adding a third catcher, keeping Bo Naylor on the roster. The Rays kept Vidal Bruján on the roster as primarily a pinch-runner. Bruján had 26 stolen bases in the minor leagues this season, and another five in the majors. However, with a .163 average, he is clearly a specialist. Look for teams to take advantage of the short series to set a roster that may be different from what we see in a longer playoff series.

The Guardians, after making quick work of the Rays, move on to face the AL East champion Yankees in the divisional series. Game 1 will be Tuesday, October 11 at Yankee Stadium. Cleveland struggled against the Bombers this season, going just 1-5, including being swept at Yankee Stadium in late April. Working in the Guardians’ favor is the extended layoff that the Yankees need to adjust to due to their bye for the wild-card round. Check back soon for a full preview of the ALDS matchup!