Alan Kornspan
Believeland Media
The Tigers scored first in Game 5 of the ALDS on Saturday afternoon against the Guardians as they took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning.
Although the Guardians may have got knocked down early, they quickly got right back up in the bottom of the fifth inning.
In fact, they scored five runs, four on a grand slam by Lane Thomas to take a 5-1 lead.
The Tigers then added runs in the sixth and seventh innings while the Guardians answered by adding runs in the bottom of the seventh and eighth to make the score 7-3.
Emmanuel Clase got the final six outs for the Guardians to earn the save and send his team to the American League Championship Series with a Game 5, 7-3 victory over the Tigers.
After the game, Guardians manager Steven Vogt talked about the mentality the Guardians had coming into Game 5.
He emphasized that the team had a high level of confidence and the belief that they could be successful.
"You have to believe," said Vogt. "If you don't believe in your group, don't even show up. We knew, as soon as we got back to Cleveland we had a chance. And, yes, we're facing the best pitcher in the league but that's who that group in that room is. They wanted it. They wanted to face him today. And if you don't show up fully confident that you're going to win, you don't show up to the field, and our guys have taken that approach all year, and we're not going to stop now."
Certainly, the Guardians needed to have a lot of confidence after going down 1-0 and having to try to score off of one of the best pitchers in baseball, Tarik SKubal.
With a high level of belief, the Guardians got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jose Ramirez was hit by a pitch which scored Giminez from third base to tie the game at 1-1.
Then, Lane Thomas came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
On the second pitch he saw, Thomas hit a 96 mph sinker out over the middle of the plate 396 feet over the left field wall for a grand slam home run to give the Guardians a 5-1 lead.
In the post-game press conference, Thomas said he was glad that he was able to come through in that sistuation after having difficulty against Skubal in his previous at bats throughout the series.
"It seems like every fastball he threw me he just painted the top up and in rail," said Thomas. And you just kind of tip your cap. He threw one over the plate after four at-bats, and I was able to put a good swing on it."
Kwan who was on third base at the time of the grand slam talked about how exciting it was to see the baseball leave the yard.
"Hit it good, had a good angle," said Kwan. That left field wall is always kind of scary because it's taller than all the other ones. So just wanted to get back for a tag-up. But seeing that ball fly over the wall was awesome, pure ecstasy."
After scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Guardians scored two more runs in the seventh and eighth innings after the Tigers got within two runs at 5-3.
The Guardians took a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Thomas drove in his fifth run of the game on infield single which scored Kwan from third base.
In the eighth inning the Guardians extended their lead to 7-3 when Brayan Rocchio singled to score Giminez from second base.
Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians star closer, pitched two innings of scoreless baseball in the eighth and ninth inning to earn the save for the Guardians.
In summing up this deciding game and advancing to the American League Championship Series to face the Yankees, Guardians Manager Steven Vogt said Game 5 was a microcosm of how the Guardians have played all year.
"That's who we are," said Vogt. "That's who that group has been in that room all year. As soon as we get punched, we answer. That's been our M.O. all year long, is as soon as we give up a run, our guys come right back. And to put up the five spot, José gets hit by the pitch, Lane comes right up and gets the big blast. But we can't rely on the home run. We have to string things together, and our guys did both today. And then we got the add-on runs at the end, and I thought today was just a perfect picture of who our team is at our best, and couldn't have come on a better day."
The Guardians now move on to take on the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
Games one and two of the ALCS will be on Monday and Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:38pm for both games.
The Guardians then return home to Progessive field on Thursday.
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