CLEVELAND – Cleveland's brutish bullpen lived up to its billing.
After dominating for months, the Guardians' relievers opened October with another hitless, strike-throwing, fear-inducing, intimidating performance in a 7-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
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Right now, there is nothing more dangerous in the big leagues.
The Tigers got exactly what they expected.
“I thought they were going to use their big boys at the end,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said, “and they ended up doing it.”
The Guardians' bullpen, which led the majors in ERA and virtually every statistical category, combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings after starter Tanner Bibee held the Tigers without a run on four hits.
Once Bibee was lifted by manager Stephen Vogt, rookie Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and closer Emmanuel Clase, who led the league with 47 saves and hasn't blown one in 34 straight chances, since May, took it from there.
The Guardians matched the largest shutout in postseason history.
Although Bibee would have liked to pitch deeper in his first playoff start, he had no qualms about handing the ball to Vogt.
“I always want to stay out there,” Bibee said. “I mean, it’s postseason. I totally get it. With how good our 'pen has been, I get it. It makes sense. Obviously I want to stay out there as long as possible, but I get it.”
After Bibee gave up a two-out single in the fifth, Vogt brought in Smith, a flame-throwing right-hander who struck out 103 in 75 1/3 innings. Smith struck out Kerry Carpenter to end the fifth before fanning Matt Vierling, Riley Greene and Colt Keith — Detroit's 3-4-5 hitters — in the sixth and called it a day.
Smith is the first pitcher in postseason history to strike out each better he faced in a debut of at least 1 1/3 innings.
Vogt wasn't shocked by Smith's first postseason outing.
'"Cade’s been so special," he said. "You never want to say you’re not surprised, but what Cade has done all year long, what Timmy has done all year long, Gaddy, Clase, a number of our bullpen guys, and pitching in general has been fun.
“But Cade, there’s no heartbeat. There’s no pulse. He just comes in and gets the job done.”
David Fry, who hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to extend Cleveland's lead to 7-0, has been watching Smith and Co. terrorize hitters all season.
He has watched Cleveland's bullpen shorten games all year, and knew the Tigers might be in trouble early on.
“It’s just so amazing what they’ve done, and it gives Vogt and the rest of our staff an easier job,” he said. "Bibee was doing really well. He was great. But it’s just so comforting being like, all right, Cade Smith, here you go. You’re going to strike out pretty much everybody you face, and that’s what he does all year
“Even today we were joking about it in the dugout, like, 'what do you think, Cade Smith in the second? It’s just — they’re that good.”
It was going to take something special to slow down the Tigers, who have been MLB's hottest team since mid-August.
This was their first crack at Cleveland's bullpen and Hinch can only hope the next one goes better.
“The more you look at them, hopefully the more comfortable you get," he said.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb