Lane Thomas' clutch grand slam powers Guardians over Tigers, advance to ALCS

Squaring off in a winner-take-all Game 5 matchup with the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Guardians’ season was on the line, and there was no way they wanted it to end like this. They knew it would take everything they had to come out on top in this matchup and then some. Luckily for Cleveland, it was their day. 

Despite being down 1-0 in the 5th and facing Tigers ace and likely American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, there was still a feeling that the game was within reach. What transpired next truly showed the resiliency of this Guardians team. 

After tying the game at 1 due to Jose Ramirez being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, it was Lane Thomas’ time to shine. Thomas needed just one pitch, a sinker that caught way too much of the zone, and he promptly deposited it into the bleachers for a grand slam, giving Cleveland a 5-1 lead.

This was the second in this series with Detroit that Thomas would come through in a big spot. Thomas hit a big three-run homer back in Game 1's 7-0 rout, and seeing that again is very encouraging for the Guardians moving forward.

It should also be mentioned that Thomas' Grand Slam is also quite historic. Thomas is only the fourth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam that gave his team the lead in a winner-take-all playoff game.

The Guardians would ride this momentum shift through the rest of the contest, adding a couple of insurance runs to prevent Detroit from replicating what Cleveland was just able to accomplish. A 2-inning save from Emmanuel Clase also proved crucial as he ended the Tigers' season on 24 pitches.

Being able to bounce back and advance after being down 2 games to 1 to a Tigers team that was seemingly on the right trajectory heading into the postseason is quite the accomplishment. Managing to defeat Detroit with their ace on the mound in an elimination game,

Cleveland can celebrate for now, but they still have work to do. The Guardians will head to the ALCS for the first time since 2016 and square off with the other American League team to get a bye through the first round of the playoffs, the New York Yankees. This will be their third meeting dating back to 2017 and should provide plenty of fireworks.