Cleveland Guardians MVP Candidate Moves Up Team History After Big Game 4

The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night in order to force a Game 5 on Saturday night. In the win, Jose Ramirez continued to climb a special list in team history.
Cleveland Guardians third base Jose Ramirez (11) throws to first base during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers during game two of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field on Oct 7.
Cleveland Guardians third base Jose Ramirez (11) throws to first base during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers during game two of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field on Oct 7. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night in the American League Division Series. The 5-4 win in Game 4 evens up the series at two games apiece and forces a Game 5, set to be played on Saturday night in Cleveland.

While the big blast for Cleveland was the pinch-hit home run from David Fry, Jose Ramirez also provided some pop by going 1-for-5 with a solo home run.

That blast moved him up a prestigious list in team history, according to @StatsCentre:

Most career #Postseason extra base hits - Player with the @CleGuardians franchise:
21- Manny Ramirez
19- Jim Thome
15- Sandy Alomar
14- Kenny Lofton
11- Jose Ramirez (Via a solo home run in Thursday's 5-4 win vs DET to force a Gm5 in their ALDS)
11- Omar Vizquel
10- David Justice

Lifetime, Ramirez is a .232 hitter in the postseason. He's got three career homers and 14 RBI in the playoffs. He helped the Guardians get to the World Series in 2016, where they lost to the Chicago Cubs.

Ramirez put together an incredible regular season for the Guardians this year, hitting .279 with 39 homers and 118 RBI. He also stole 41 bases and posted a .872 OPS. He's very likely to finish in the Top Five of American League MVP voting alongside names like Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Bobby Witt Jr.

Lifetime, Ramirez is in the 12th year of his career, all with the Guardians.

Game 5 will be played at 8:08 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Guardians have not announced a starting pitcher yet, but they will face Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.