Lane Thomas hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs, while Josh Naylor added two RBIs, leading the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians to a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, which clinched a first-round bye in the postseason.
Tanner Bibee (12-8) gave up one run on four hits over seven innings, earning his first home win since July 19. The right-hander struck out seven batters in what might be his last appearance before Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
Cleveland will have a five-day break between the end of the regular season and the start of the division series on October 5 at Progressive Field.
“Getting these days off is going to give us a lot of rejuvenation, especially for a young team,” Bibee said. “Now, we’re going to be here at home for like two weeks in a row. It’s going to be nice.”
Both Thomas and Kyle Manzardo hit home runs off Carson Spiers (5-7) in a three-run first inning, helping the Guardians improve their best home record in the AL to 49-28. They also hold the second-best overall record in the AL, trailing the New York Yankees by 1.5 games.
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said he will approach the next four games just like the first 158 but acknowledged, “We might give guys a day off.”
“We’ve said from the beginning that we think we can play with anybody –- and these guys have proved it,” the first-year manager said. “It’s incredible, so great for them. We couldn’t be happier about this opportunity.”
The Reds played their first game under interim manager Freddie Benavides, who was promoted on Sunday after David Bell was fired. Benavides has four years of minor league managing experience with Cincinnati, the last being in 2007 at Single-A Billings.
With this loss, Cincinnati is guaranteed to finish with a losing record for the eighth time in the last ten seasons.
