The Cleveland Guardians now have sole possession of first place. Last night the Guardians had another exciting win over the Detroit Tigers. The fans packed the stadium again, despite the almost 40 minute
rain delay to start the game, and were roaring, chanting, and cheering the entire time. George Valera’s first of many Progressive Field home runs started the rally that ultimately led to the 5-1 victory over the Tigers. Nick has the full write up here. What a crowd, what a game, and what a run.
With last night’s game Cleveland’s rotation continue their historic run of 19-straight games without starting pitching allowing more than two runs. It has been beyond impressive to see what the rotation has been able to accomplish. Hiring Corey Kluber to the pitching staff may have been the secret sauce to this late season playoff sprint.
The Cleveland Guardians released an official update on David Fry. Fry suffered multiple fractures to his face and nose after taking a fast ball to his cheek. He will, thankfully, be able to avoid surgery and is looking at a 6-8 week recovery time. The team reports that he is already out of the hospital and back home resting.
Tarik Skubal may be a terror on the mound, but he showed his true colors as an individual. Not only did he immediately reach out to Fry after the game on Tuesday, but went with Stephen Vogt and Fry’s teammates to check on him Tuesday night. Vogt offered to drive Skubal, and I think that situation perfectly encapsulates that baseball is bigger than the game on the field.
In a corresponding move to Fry being placed on the 10-day IL, Jonathan Rodríguez was recalled from AAA Columbus.
The magic number is three and the Guards have the opportunity to sweep the Tigers for the second time in just over a week. If the Guardians win tonight’s game, the magic number will fall to one. The Guardians face the Texas Rangers to close out the season this weekend. The Rangers have Wyatt Langford, Sam Haggerty, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager on the IL and DeGrom just pitched last night. The Tigers face the Boston Red Sox in Boston to close out their season. This could be down to the wire until the very last game. How exciting.
Around the League
Cal Raleigh hit his 59th home run of the season, only 3 away from the current AL Home Run Record.
Aaron Judge hit his 50th home run of the season, marking the fourth season of his career with 50+HR and making him the fourth player in MLB history to do so.
Paul Skenes finishes the season with a 1.97 ERA, making Pirates history.
The Phillies clinch the first-round bye after a 8 home run game against the Marlins.
