The Cleveland Guardians' offense had gone dormant since Game 1 of the ALDS and if the bats didn't wake up from their slumber, they'd be headed home for the winter. They did just enough in Game 4, in rather dramatic fashion, to pull it off. With the 5-4 win over the upstart Tigers, the Guardians have sent this series back to Cleveland and staved off elimination. That snaps an 11-game postseason streak of the Guardians losing an elimination game, dating back to the 1997 World Series.
Fry comes through in the clutch
The big blow of the game -- and, if the Guardians win Game 5, the series -- came off the bat of All-Star utility man David Fry. It was a 3-2 Tigers lead in the top of the seventh with two outs and one runner on base. Fry pinch hit for Kyle Manzardo and faced Tigers' Swiss Army Knife pitcher Beau Brieske. And boom, the entire complexion of the series changed:
This was the first go-ahead home run by a pinch hitter in Guardians playoff history, per MLB.com. Further, this is the second time in Cleveland franchise history a player in the seventh inning or later, facing elimination, homered. The other? Albert Belle, who hit a grand slam in Game 3 of the 1996 ALDS (via ESPN).
Also, the Guardians added an all-important insurance run in the top of the ninth on a squeeze by Fry. After the game, Fry said manager Stephen Vogt asked him if he was confident he could get it down.
"I told him I wasn't a very good hitter in high school, so I'm pretty confident; I had to bunt a lot," Fry said (via MLB.com).
The Guardians had Hunter Gaddis in the game with Tim Herrin and Emmanuel Clase still available, too, from their stable of stud relievers. The trio brought it home for the Guardians, sending them home.
J-Ram back on track?
Guardians superstar José Ramírez was 1 for 11 in the series -- and the one hit could have been ruled an error -- before clubbing a solo home run Thursday to take the 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning. It had to be nice for the Guardians to see him get on track there. They'll need him to continue that in Game 5.
Questionable Vogt decision?
After the Ramírez homer in the fifth to give the Guardians the lead, starter Tanner Bibee went back out there and was immediately greeted with a game-tying homer by Zach McKinstry. Vogt then pulled Bibee from the game. Reliever Cade Smith was already warmed up, begging the question: Why did Bibee start the fifth inning? This was an elimination game for the Guardians and there was no room for error.
The Guardians came back to win, so we can slap the ol' "all's well that ends well" label on this one, but it was a head scratcher to try to squeeze another out or two from the starter with a one-run lead while the season was on the line.
Tigers kept coming
This shouldn't be a surprise given everything we've seen from the Tigers since early in August, but they kept fighting. The Guardians took a 1-0 lead in the first and the Tigers tied it in the second. Then there was the McKinstry homer that followed the Ramírez homer to again tie the game. Then the Tigers took the lead in the sixth against the extremely-tough Smith/Gaddis duo. They got a baserunner in the seventh too.
In the eighth, there was a major threat. Against Herrin, Riley Greene singled and then Wenceel Pérez came through with a one-out single. That forced Vogt to go to Clase for a five-out save, a similar situation in which he coughed up a three-run homer in Game 2. This time, he worked out of it despite giving up a run in the ninth.
Up next: Game 5
The series shifts back to Progressive Field and it'll be rocking, as Cleveland does. On the mound, expect a rematch of Game 2 with presumptive Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal getting the ball for the Tigers while Matthew Boyd goes for the Guardians.
Skubal figures to get deep into the game, like he did in seven scoreless innings in Game 2. Boyd likely won't have a long leash, but the Guardians have that excellent bullpen and there's a day off between Games 4 and 5.
The best bet here is a very well-pitched game where runs are at a premium. Then again, the way this postseason has gone for all of Major League Baseball, who knows?
