Bring On The Yankees! Cleveland Takes ALDS Game 5 From Detroit, 7-3

The Cleveland Guardians are heading to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2016 after beating the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Saturday afternoon in Game 5 of the ALDS.

Oct 12, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas (8) runs the bases after hitting a grand slam in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers during game five of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

"You have no idea what you're going to see at 1:08. You have no idea. I have no idea. This is who we are. We're the team that finds a way."

Stephen Vogt's Guardians are built for October.

Cleveland hasn't quit on a game all year, and it sure wasn't going to be intimidated after falling behind 1-0 while facing the presumptive American League Cy Young award winner.

On a chilly, wind-blowing-in October afternoon at Progressive Field where it was going to take a titanic effort to hit a home run, Lane Thomas' grand slam off Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was the knockout punch in ALDS Game 5. The Guardians won 7-3 Saturday to clinch a spot against the New York Yankees in the ALCS Monday night.

In a calm, confident demeanor, Stephen Vogt told Cleveland beat reporters before the game that he felt deep in his heart their journey wasn't going to end on Saturday.

"It kind of feels like game one again where it's like if you don't wake up excited to play today or excited to come compete, there's something wrong with you. And I think, yeah, there's the pressure of if we don't win, we go home. We just had that the other day though too, and we're at home. It feels like we're going to New York and let's just go see what happens. Let's go play and leave it all out there."

It's as if he manifested it.

The Guardians did it their way on Saturday. Sure, Lane Thomas will long be considered a Cleveland hero after the marquee moment of his career. But it was a true team win in every sense of the word.

Lane Thomas with the 7th grand slam in a winner-take-all postseason game, joining:

2019 NLDS G5 Howie Kendrick
2014 NLWCG Brandon Crawford
2012 NLDS G5 Buster Posey
2004 ALCS G7 Johnny Damon
1999 ALDS G5 Troy O’Leary
1956 WS G7 Bill Skowron

Thomas: 1st at home https://t.co/n7ALnkOqp9

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 12, 2024

Matthew Boyd's start only lasted two innings, but he was outstanding. It appeared Stephen Vogt didn't want to give any Tigers hitters a second look at him, so he was pulled despite a modest pitch count. Boyd struck out five over two scoreless innings and surrendered only one hit, stranding that runner at third base. His five punch outs are tied for the most through two innings in Cleveland's postseason franchise history.

Then after letting an early chance slip through their fingers, the Guardians chose to ride their MLB-best bullpen the rest of the way.

Cade Smith and Eric Sabrowski helped keep a clean sheet through four innings. Smith struck out three hittes in 1.2 innings and made some history in the process. No relief pitcher has ever fanned 12 batters in MLB Division Series history. He's also the first Cleveland reliever to appear in all five ALDS games.

Sabrowski came on to get the final out of the fourth. At that point, Detroit was having trouble putting the ball in play. The Guardians had induced 23 swings & misses through those first four innings. That’s five more than any other team through the first four innings of a postseason game since MLB began pitch tracking in 2008.

But the Tigers are too good offensively and were bound to make life difficult at some point. They scored in the fifth to take a 1-0 lead, on Kerry Carpenter's pinch-hit single to the right-center field wall that scored Trey Sweeney from first base. That run came off Andrew Walters.

Thomas' grand slam gave Cleveland the lead in the bottom of the fifth, but the Tigers scored one run each in the sixth and seventh innings off Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis. Gaddis got out of a pickle in the sixth, fanning Carpenter with the bases loaded to end the inning and preserve a 5-2 lead.

Thomas added a soft infield single in the seventh, beating the shift and extending the lead to 6-3. His five RBI are second most in club history in a postseason game. Omar Vizquel had a 6-RBI day in Game 3 of the ALDS against Seattle on October 13, 2001.

Eli Morgan gave the Guardians great relief work in the 7th and 8th innings, striking out two batters and walking one.

Emmanuel Clase came on for a 6-out save after Parker Meadows reached to open the eighth inning. After getting a lineout and fly out, Clase extracted his revenge on Carpenter. After throwing him three straight sliders on Tuesday and allowing the first 3-run homer ever hit against him (which cost the Guardians Game 2), Clase fired seven cutters and a 4-seam fastball that were all 99.9 miles per hour or faster, ultimately striking Carpenter out to end the inning.

Yeah Emmanuel Clase had revenge on his mind facing Kerry Carpenter pic.twitter.com/riDuGtO8rP

— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) October 12, 2024

Brayan Rocchio added an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth, his sixth hit in 16 at bats this series. Steven Kwan had another great day, ripping off a third consecutive 3-hit game. He was 11-for-20 in the five games with a double and two walks.

Cleveland will play for the American League pennant for the first time since 2016, and for just the sixth time ever (1995 vs. Seattle, 1997 vs. Baltimore, 1998 vs. New York, 2007 vs. Boston, 2016 vs. Toronto). It will also be the seventh all-time playoff series between the Guardians and the Bronx Bombers (1997, 1998, 2007, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024).

The ALCS opens at Yankee Stadium Monday night at 7:30 pm.