After the Cleveland Guardians made crucial mistakes in the opening game of their American League Wild Card Series against the Tigers, Detroit made plenty of its own in Game 2.
Cleveland won 6-1 on Wednesday, forcing a decisive Game 3 and keeping its season alive on a windy day on the shores of Lake Erie.
The Tigers made questionable decisions on the basepaths and in the bullpen, appearing to freeze when presented with opportunities to score.
Here are the winners and losers from another tense playoff game between these division rivals.
Winner: Jose Ramirez
It’s better to be feared than loved, and Jose Ramirez is both. The Tigers barely gave the superstar third baseman a reason to take his bat off his shoulder in Game 2, walking him three times — once intentionally — as they nibbled around the zone.
He helped chase Tigers starter Casey Mize from the game after only three innings, working a nine-pitch walk. That appeared to spook Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who turned to the bullpen with Mize at just 62 pitches. Forcing the Tigers’ relievers to cover six innings could prove critical in the decisive Game 3 on Thursday.
Winner: Bo Naylor
Guardians catcher Bo Naylor called a masterful game, limiting the Tigers to just one run and pushing all the right buttons in clutch scenarios. He also gave Cleveland a commanding 6-1 lead, fighting back after trailing 0-2 in the count to club a three-run home run into the wind gusting at 25 mph.
Although he’s barely hitting above the Mendoza Line in his young career, Naylor flashed his ability to shine in critical moments Wednesday afternoon.
Loser: Tigers With RISP
The Tigers went 1-for-15 with seven strikeouts with runners in scoring position, squandering the seven hits and six walks they managed to collect. Even their lone run, on a Javier Báez single in the fifth inning, came with a mistake as Zach McKinstry ran into an out at third base, ending the inning and preventing the Tigers from taking a 2-1 lead.
Detroit put a runner on second or third with nobody out in the first and seventh innings and did so with just one out in the fourth and ninth innings, but scored just one run from those prime opportunities.
Loser: Troy Melton
Cleveland pounced on Tigers reliever Troy Melton in his first taste of postseason baseball, tagging the rookie right-hander for four runs, a home run and the loss on just 14 pitches.
Melton recorded only one out while issuing three hits and an intentional walk as the Guardians blew the game open in the eighth inning. After posting a 2.76 ERA with 36 strikeouts across 45 2/3 innings in his first season in the big leagues, Melton’s postseason ERA sits at an astronomical 108.
While it was Brant Hurter who gave up the three-run homer to Naylor that crushed Detroit’s hopes of a comeback, it was Melton who put those runners aboard and helped Cleveland’s offense start rolling.
