Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener

CLEVELAND — Cleveland's Lane Thomas crushed a three-run home run as part of a historic five-run first inning and the Guardians powered to a 7-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers to open their Major League Baseball second-round playoff series.

Thomas belted the first pitch from Detroit reliever Reese Olson over the left field wall to put the Guardians up 5-0 without an out in the first on Saturday.

Cleveland had already roughed up Tigers starting pitcher Tyler Holton, putting their first four batters on base before Holton was pulled without recording an out.

Steven Kwan smacked a leadoff double off the top of the right field wall.

David Fry drew a walk and Jose Ramirez hit a ground ball that went through the legs of Detroit third baseman Zach McKinstry and allowed Kwan to score.

Fry scored on Josh Naylor's single before Olson replaced Holton on the mound, a move that couldn't prevent the Guardians becoming the first American League team to score five runs before recording an out in a playoff game.

"It was awesome," Lane said of homering in his first post-season at-bat. "It started with the guys in front of me, so I think it wouldn't have been possible without those guys."

Fry delivered a two-run double off Detroit reliever Ty Madden in the sixth to push Cleveland's lead to 7-0.

Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee departed to a big ovation in the fifth inning and Cleveland's bullpen kept the Tigers in check the rest of the way to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five AL division series.

The showdown between the NL West division rivals highlights the division matchups, which also include the New York Yankees facing the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Yankees and Royals, once fierce playoff rivals, haven't met in the post-season since 1980.

The Yankees, driven by an MLB-leading 58 home runs from Aaron Judge, posted the best record in the American League on the way to the AL East title.

After the Yankees missed the playoffs in an injury-plagued 2023, former Rookie of the Year and 2022 AL MVP Judge is aiming to add a World Series title to his resume.

The Yankees are heavy favorites against a Royals team back in the playoffs one year after losing 106 games.

The Mets-Phillies series sees an intense NL East rivalry extended to the post-season for the first time.

The Phillies went 95-67 to lock up the division crown while the Mets battled to the bitter end of the regular season to claim their playoff spot then needed three games to put away the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild card round.

© 2024 AFP