Smith's 5-K outing puts bow on Guardians' bullpen's dominant weekend

CLEVELAND -- Guardians closer Cade Smith fired a 1-2 splitter in the 10th inning that dove and caught some dirt before it ended up in the glove of catcher Patrick Bailey. Tigers rookie Max Clark yelled out in frustration after he chased the offering for strike three.

Smith has that effect on hitters. The All-Star right-hander was in peak form on Sunday, putting a bow on a big-time performance by the Cleveland bullpen as the Guardians secured a four-game series win over the Tigers.

Smith struck out five of the six batters he faced across the ninth and 10th innings on Sunday, including Clark, to reach 300 K's in his career. It set the table for Daniel Schneemann’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th, which sent the Guardians home with a 3-2 win.

“What an unbelievable weekend for the bullpen,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “They were outstanding. Cade Smith today, that's about as good as you're going to see from anyone. Just tip of the cap to all of our guys.”

The Guardians' three walk-off victories are the prevailing stories from this four-game series. But Cleveland wouldn’t have been positioned for any of those wins without the sturdy performance by Smith and his bullpen mates.

The Guardians’ bullpen had a 2.04 ERA during the series, which amounted to four runs (all earned) over 17 2/3 innings. The group allowed 10 hits and two walks and struck out 22 batters.

“That speaks to the mantra of what the bullpen is down there,” Smith said. “We have eight, nine guys down there now, and whatever is called upon us, whatever is asked of us, we want to make sure we've done the work to be ready to step up and contribute.”

The usual suspects stepped up this weekend. Smith and setup men Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski each threw three scoreless innings. But this was a full-group effort.

• In a 7-6 win in Game 1 of the doubleheader on Friday, Slade Cecconi was charged with one run on three hits (including a solo home run) over 2 2/3 innings. Craig Yoho followed Cecconi with a scoreless inning. They kept the Guardians in the mix after starter Logan Allen allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings.

• The Guardians recalled Daniel Espino from Triple-A Columbus between games Friday, and he struck out three batters over two scoreless innings in a 4-3 win. There was also Austin Peterson, who tossed two scoreless innings in his MLB debut on Saturday.

Smith saved the best for last.

The Guardians and Tigers were tied, 2-2, heading into the ninth inning on Sunday, and Detroit had the middle of its order due up. Smith struck out fellow All-Star Riley Greene on three pitches, capped off by a 98.3 mph four-seam fastball. He completed the ninth by getting Dillon Dingler to fly out to right fielder Jo Adell and striking out Brett Callahan.

Smith threw just 10 pitches in the ninth inning. He went back out for the 10th and struck out Ben Malgeri, Clark and John Peck to strand automatic runner Callahan on second base.

“That's about as efficient as you're going to get six outs right there,” Vogt said.

Smith has to pay attention to the automatic runner on second base in extra innings. That runner’s presence makes it crucial to go right at a hitter. The margin for error is thin. Smith was about as masterful as you can be in that situation.

“After seeing it for multiple years, it's no surprise,” Schneemann said of Smith. “I feel like no one else in the league is surprised either. So it's really special to watch.”