The Two Game-Changing Plays In Cleveland's Win Over The Tigers

Will Brennan and Myles Straw make tremendous defensive plays for the Cleveland Guardians.

Tommy Wild | May 10, 2023

The Two Game-Changing Plays In Cleveland's Win Over The Tigers /

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The Cleveland Guardians managed to beat the Detroit Tigers by scoring just two runs in Tuesday night's game. That doesn't happen very often. The Guardians entered the matchup with a record of 5-17 when they score three or fewer runs.

Cleveland managed to shut out the Tigers behind a fantastic start from Shane Bieber and a solid performance from the bullpen. Amed Rosario also finally came around and had a four-hit night including a critical late-game RBI.

However, there are two plays that really stand out as the game changers in this one helping the Guardians solidify the victory.

Will Brennan Throws Out Javier Baez

The Guardians got the scoring started in the first inning and took an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers weren't going to sit around and they had an opportunity to tie in the third inning.

But that didn't happen.

Will Brennan ended the inning by throwing out Javier Baez at home plate saving a run in the process. Also, Cam Gallagher made a massive heads-up play coming to the ball and reaching back to apply the tag.

If Baez scores, then the game is tied in the third presenting many more challenges for the offense and the pitchers.

After the game, Terry Francona gave credit to both Brennan and Gallagher for executing the play so smoothly.

Myles Straw's Running Catch

The Tigers had a runner-in-scoring position once again in the top of the eighth inning. Jonathan Schoop was at the plate as a pinch hitter and put a charge into a ball that screamed trouble off the bat.

But Straw got a fantastic jump on the ball, tracked it down, and made the catch. Spencer Torkelson was on second and completely misread the play and he wasn't able to advance to third.

If that ball gets down then Cleveland is faced with a tie ballgame in the bottom of the eighth, or even worse.

That's how you win a Gold Glove, btw.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/2wh9xc87ql
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 10, 2023

The Guardians have struggled to produce any offense for about a month now. As nice as it would be to score some more runs and get more hits soon, these two plays show that winning games is more than just what happens at the plate.

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Published May 10, 2023