The postseason is at its most fun when both teams have something to prove. The ZiPS projections may have been bullish on the Cleveland Guardians coming into the season, but the computer was in the minority, with most observers thinking the Minnesota Twins were the clear favorites in the division. The Guardians are no longer the habitual losers they were from the 1960s-80s, but their last World Series championship was still in 1948. For their part, the Detroit Tigers dominated the AL Central 15 years ago, but lost both of their World Series, dropping eight of nine games. And Detroit wasn’t even supposed to be here; the team traded Jack Flaherty at the deadline and if someone had bowled them over with an offer, Tarik Skubal might be wearing a different uniform this month.
Game 4 was do or die for Cleveland, with the Tigers’ plan of “Tarik Skubal and then pitching chaos” winning two of the first three games. With a bullpen whose second-half performance led the American League with a 2.50 ERA and 3.0 WAR (the Tigers weren’t far behind with a 3.00 ERA and 2.8 WAR), the Guardians had high hopes that they’d be able to send the ALDS back to Cleveland for one winner-take-all showdown. And that’s precisely what they did, winning a closely fought game that was one of the most entertaining we’ve seen so far this October.
Cleveland struck first and in old-school fashion, with a single and a stolen base from Steven Kwan, and singles by Kyle Manzardo and Lane Thomas, the latter of which scored Kwan. But Will Brennan’s groundout on a low changeup allowed Detroit starter Reese Olson to escape the first having only surrendered one run.
Tanner Bibee, Cleveland’s most dependable starter this season, initially stuck to his usual script of high four-seamers mixed with sliders and changeups, staying away from the inside part of the plate against the lefty-heavy Tigers lineup.
The bottom of the first started off inauspiciously for the Guardians, as Parker Meadows hit a Texas Leaguer that landed in right-center between Brennan, Thomas and Andrés Giménez. Meadows was aggressive enough to stretch the play into a double, but after a hard-fought Kerry Carpenter strikeout, the Tigers’ bats failed to produce anything more and Bibee escaped unscathed. Olson got through the second more comfortably, but with Bibee still nibbling the edges of the strike zone, the Tigers were much more patient on their second try, with the first three batters of the inning only swinging at two of 16 …
