A Sense of Doubt blog post #3525 - Tigers Lose ALDS Game Five 7-3
They lost.
And then it's over.
They had a good run.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/401701061
Thomas hits grand slam off Skubal, Guardians down Tigers 7-3 to reach AL Championship Series
CLEVELAND -- — For the third time in less than a month, the Cleveland Guardians made a semi-circle in the middle of their clubhouse and emptied champagne and beer bottles on each other as “Rocky Top” blasted through the speakers.
The choice of music is unique. So is this team.
The Guardians are an October surprise.
Lane Thomas hit a grand slam off Detroit ace Tarik Skubal and the Guardians, who have won with timely hitting and a shutdown bullpen all season, followed that script for a 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Game 5 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.
Next up for Cleveland is the New York Yankees in an AL Championship Series between two teams that have crossed paths six previous times in the playoffs. They last met in 2022, with the Yankees taking their ALDS in five games.
Game 1 is Monday in the Bronx.
With their $109 million payroll, the Guardians are an oddity among baseball's final four — the little guys taking on the big-spending Yankees, Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's Cleveland against the world.
“We’re playing a very, very good Yankees team,” said Guardians first-year manager Stephen Vogt. “We’ve seen them in the regular season. This is one of the most talented teams in the league. So we know we have our work cut out for us.”
Thomas had five RBI for the Guardians, who weren't expected to contend this season. But they won the tough AL Central under Vogt, giving the franchise a chance to stop a World Series title drought stretching to 1948.
“We're a step closer. Any time you're a step closer, the more you want to win," All-Star third baseman José Ramírez said through an interpreter. “And we want to win it for the city.”
The Guardians had to take down Skubal, the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award, to keep it going. The left-hander had not given up a run in 28 consecutive innings — 17 in this postseason — before the Guardians tagged him in the fifth for five runs, tying the most he allowed in 2024.
“They wanted to face him today," Vogt said. “And if you don’t show up fully confident that you’re going to win, you don’t show up to the field. That's been our approach all year, and we’re not going to stop now.”
Cleveland pieced together its big inning off Skubal with the team's familiar, scrappy style dubbed “Guards Ball,” getting three singles — one an infield roller — to load the bases before Skubal hit Ramírez on the left hand to force in a run.
“That’s who we are,” Vogt said. “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 — as soon as we give up a run, our guys come right back."
That brought up Thomas, who hit a three-run homer in Cleveland's 7-0 win in Game 1.
The center fielder, who struggled in his first month with the Guardians after coming over in a July trade with Washington, connected on Skubal's first pitch, sending it just over the 19-foot-high wall in left-center field.
When the ball touched down, the Guardians' dugout emptied and the screaming, red-clad Progressive Field crowd erupted in celebration.
It was another monster moment for Thomas, a Tennessee native and the reason why the club added “Rocky Top” to its postgame playlist.
“Definitely had some struggles those first two weeks, or maybe even the month,” Thomas said, reflecting on his rocky start with Cleveland. “I’m just thankful they kind of hung with me and let me get my feet under me and kept giving me at-bats. It felt good to kind of come through late in September and obviously in the playoffs.”
The homer was a rare misstep in what has been a dominant season for Skubal.
“It was one pitch,” Skubal said. “I would love to have it back. But what a swing. In the moment, you think about executing the pitch and I didn't do it. This will sting a little bit and it should."
As has been the case all season, Vogt leaned on his MLB-best bullpen, which showed some wear and tear.
After Thomas hit his homer, the Tigers threatened in the sixth, scoring a run on a single by Jake Rogers and loading the bases with two outs. But Hunter Gaddis struck out Kerry Carpenter, who won Game 2 with a three-run homer in the ninth.
The Tigers, though, kept clawing and closed to 5-3 on Colt Keith's one-out RBI double in the seventh. Eli Morgan came in for Cleveland and struck out both batters he faced.
Thomas hit an RBI single in the seventh to put the Guardians up by three, and Vogt turned to All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, the AL's saves leader, in the eighth to put the Tigers away.
Throwing one 100 mph fastball after another, Clase got the final six outs. When he retired Keith on a routine grounder to first, the Guardians could finally exhale and plan for their first ALCS visit since 2016.
“These moments are made for confidence," Clase said through an interpreter. "I feel that I’m made for that.”
Skubal lost for the first time since Aug. 2, and the Tigers, who missed a chance to eliminate the Guardians at Comerica Park on Thursday, had their unimaginable late-season push end in disappointment.
“I have a heartbroken team for all the right reasons,” said Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who pushed all the right buttons down the stretch. “I mean we left everything we could on the field against a really good team and we didn’t want the season to end as abruptly as it did.”
Out of contention in August, Detroit regrouped and rerouted its season. Energized by some kids they brought up from the minors, the Tigers took off and went 31-13 after Aug. 11 to earn a postseason berth — one of three AL Central teams to make it.
They swept Houston in the wild-card round before meeting Cleveland in the postseason for the first time after more than 2,300 games between the franchises.
The Guardians took hold of first place in April and never let go. Cleveland became one of the season's biggest surprises, winning 92 games under Vogt, a former journeyman catcher who had no previous managerial experience.
Before the game, Vogt was confident his team wasn't done.
“It feels like we’re going to New York,” said Vogt.
The Guardians are on their way.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401701061Detroit Tigers deserve one final thank-you for this
magical run
CLEVELAND — Riley Greene leaned against the top railing in the Detroit Tigers dugout, his arms dangling, looking completely drained, watching the Cleveland Guardians celebrate in Progressive Field.
Taking mental pictures.
Trying not to forget.
“It’s fuel for next year,” Greene said after the Tigers’ season came to a sudden, crushing end on Saturday with a 7-3 loss against Cleveland in Game 5 of the ALDS. “Wish it could have been us, but played a good game, is what it is.”
Cleveland advances to the ALCS against the New York Yankees.
The Tigers?
Pack the bags. Head on home. Their magical journey has come to an end.
RAINER SABIN:In ALDS Game 5 loss, Tarik Skubal and Detroit Tigers not indestructible after all
After the game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch gave his young, scrappy team one last lesson: There’s nothing like postseason baseball; it’s addictive.
“He said, ‘Once you've kind of tasted it, it's the ultimate,’ ” Jake Rogers said.
But Hinch said something else that is just as important: “A.J. said it best — we're going to use this as a floor for what we're capable of next year,” rookie outfielder Parker Meadows said.
That is what this team did.
It not only did the improbable — climbing back from a massive mid-August hole, refusing to give up, clawing back to .500, then making the postseason and beating the Houston Astros in the AL wild-card round.
Yes, this team did that.
But along the way, it has ignited the fanbase and raised expectations.
“I have a heartbroken team for all the right reasons,” Hinch said. “I mean, we left everything we could on the field against a really good team, and we didn't want the season to end as abruptly as it did.
“So I thanked them. You know, I thanked them for everything that they're about in that room. I'm really proud to be the manager and represent them so many days in front of the camera, in front of the media, get to run the team on the field because of who they are and what they're about.”
Ugh — one pitch
Through most of this game, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal kept chugging along, like a train barreling down the tracks, picking up strikeouts, keeping the Tigers season alive, getting out of jams, baffling the Guardians, keeping the Tigers in it, waiting for his team to take the lead.
But it all fell apart in the fifth inning.
Jose Ramirez, one of the best players in the game, came up with the bases loaded and one out. Skubal tried to go up and in and bonked Ramierz in the left hand. That scored a run.
On the next pitch, Lane Thomas hit a grand slam.
“It's just one pitch, and credit to him, he didn't miss it,” Skubal said. “Think that was probably the first knock he's had on me this series.”
Yes, one pitch was the real difference in this game.
One pitch brought an end to a magical season.
That’s what this team learned.
“This is why you're here — the best of the best play in this, and it's hard,” Rogers said. “Every pitch matters. Every pitch counts.”
Would there be a magical ending?
The middle of this game felt like a Disney movie come to life.
Kerry Carpenter, who had suffered a hamstring injury in Game 4, hobbled to the plate.
It hurt him to swing, hurt even more to run.
“These guys in the clubhouse — that’s pretty much who I fight for,” Carpenter said. “If I could go, I wanted to go for them.”
Carpenter came up against a rookie pitcher and crushed a ball — it sliced through a cool breeze and banged off the right-field wall, driving in a run.
And he basically walked to first.
“He's a dawg,” first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “He's an unbelievable competitor. He's tough.”
Somehow, Carpenter’s magical moment summed up this team.
Refusing to quit. Overcoming the pain. Doing anything for his teammates.
Lessons for the youth
In the quiet Tigers clubhouse, the Tigers were walking around, giving each other bro-hugs.
This team is just so young, so likeable and fun.
At one point, Hinch had four rookies on the field: Wenceel Pérez, 24; Justyn-Henry Malloy, 24; Colt Keith, 23; and Trey Sweeney, 24.
And it’s important to remember how some of the “older” guys are just as young: Greene and Meadows are both 24, too.
Shoot, Torkelson is one of the ancients ... at 25.
“We lost today,” Torkelson said. “But so proud of this group of the way we fought and stayed in it. The magic that we had in this clubhouse and the belief we had one another is so special."
One of the biggest revelations of the postseason has been the emergence of Meadows.
He picked up a double in the second inning, giving him seven straight postseason games with a hit and tying the franchise record held by Charlie Gehringer (1934).
I mean, it’s incredible territory for Meadows, moving one slot ahead of Al Kaline in 1968. And yes, I just wanted to write a sentence with Meadows and Kaline together, to try to put all this in perspective.
“It hurts,” Meadows said. “Still hurts, obviously, but I think everyone in this locker room kind of look back on the year and be satisfied. You know, we've proved a lot of people wrong.”
Thank you, Tigers
Rogers leaned back in a couch, sipping a beer.
“I’m never gonna forget this team,” Rogers said.
I reached out and shook his hand. “Thank you,” I said to Rogers. “And I think, when I say that, I’m speaking for all of Detroit.”
Thank you, to all of them.
Thank you, for bringing October baseball back to Detroit.
Thank you for doing the improbable while playing the right way, fighting and clawing, refusing to give up, just getting into the postseason.
Thank you for making this a baseball town again, bringing Comerica Park back to life, giving Tigers fans two months of must-watch baseball.
Thank you for teaching everybody a lesson in perseverance, while having a whole lot of fun along the way.
Thank you for just making everybody remember what this is like.
As Hinch said, it’s addictive.
If this is the floor, if this is the expectation now, the future is just so dang promising.
MORE FROM SATURDAY:Adrenaline powered Kerry Carpenter's quick return to Tigers' lineup in ALDS Game 5 loss
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
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- Days ago: MOM = 3389 days ago & DAD = 045 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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