The Cleveland Guardians were aware of what to expect in Game 3, but it didn’t change the outcome. The pitching strategy for the Detroit Tigers is working well right now.
Detroit used six pitchers to shut out Cleveland for the second game in a row, winning 3-0 on Wednesday and taking a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.
“We were ready for all of it,” said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “We took our chances when we could to score runs, made some attempts, but just didn’t succeed.”
The Tigers started with Keider Montero, who retired the aggressive Guardians without any hits in the first inning, throwing five strikes and one ball.
“We know he’s aggressive early in the zone,” Vogt said. “I won’t question our players’ actions. They handle their at-bats individually, and they are professionals.”
Montero’s six pitches were the fewest thrown by a starting pitcher in the playoffs since Wade Miley had a five-pitch outing for Milwaukee against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 National League Championship Series.
While Miley was taken out after giving up a walk, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch continued his successful strategy of relying on the bullpen, a tactic he started using more after the trade deadline.
“It’s not scripted because there are so many factors at play,” he explained.
Hinch brought in rookie left-hander Brant Hurter for a part of the lineup that was mostly left-handed in the second inning. Josh Naylor and Lane Thomas got singles to start the inning, and Andrés Giménez flew out to left.
Vogt then had left-handed Jhonkensy Noel hit in place of Will Brennan, who bats right. Noel flew out to center, moving Naylor to third base, but Bo Naylor lined out to right, ending the inning.
“We kind of expected that was their plan,” Vogt said.
The Guardians left eight runners on base and went 0 for 8 when they had chances to score. They haven’t scored since the sixth inning of their 7-0 victory in Game 1 against Detroit.
Cleveland has a chance to bring the AL Division Series back home with a win on Thursday night. Manager Stephen Vogt said Tanner Bibee will start Game 4 for the AL Central champions.
The Tigers are trying to reach the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2013.
This is the Guardians’ fifth playoff appearance in eight years, but they haven’t moved past a division series since their run to the 2016 World Series. Brennan expressed confidence that the team will bounce back.
“We’ve done this all year,” he said. “You know a lot of people have never really believed in us until we made it to the postseason. So, again kind of just the norm.”
Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings in Game 1 against Detroit. The 24-year-old right-hander had a record of 12-8 with a 3.47 ERA in 31 regular-season starts. He is 22-12 with a 3.25 ERA in his two seasons in the majors.
The Tigers, who made the playoffs after a strong finish with a 31-13 record, will likely use several pitchers in the second of two games at Comerica Park.
“We’ve been doing this for a couple months,” Hinch said simply.
