ST. PETERSBURG -- For most of Game 1 of the ALCS, the Guardians’ pitching staff existed in the background. By the time they pulled off their unlikely comeback win, though, it was clear they’d been the stars of the show all along.
The Rays scored their second run of the game with two outs in the first inning. The rest of the way, the Guardians’ pitching staff put up 8 1/3 innings of one-run ball, stubbornly holding the line. Cleveland's hurlers knew their offense would join the party eventually.
There were two clear turning points, and the first belonged to starter Foster Griffin, who still earned waves of praise from his manager and teammates following the 7-3 win Monday night at Tropicana Field despite giving up those early runs.
With the bases loaded in that first inning, Griffin struck out Taylor Walls to escape the frame and avoid what could have been an early avalanche. From that point on, Griffin was spectacular, looking so much more like the starter who posted a 3.06 ERA for the Nationals earlier this season, not the one who’d hit some turbulence down the stretch after being traded to the Guardians. Those next three innings set the stage for everything else.
“We knew that we could still stay in it,” Griffin said. “Obviously they have a great starting pitcher over there [in Drew Rasmussen] with a great track record, but I felt like if we could keep it at two [runs], we could chip away and hand it off to our bullpen, which has been nails all year.”
Griffin’s workload was in an awkward spot, though, having thrown just 53 pitches his last time out in Game 3 of the ALDS against the White Sox. That’s why manager Stephen Vogt chose to lift him after just 63 pitches this time, even though he’d gotten on a roll.
The assignment for Daniel Espino when he took over in the fifth, still trying to keep the game within two runs? Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero. Welcome to the ALCS!
The result? Strikeout, strikeout, strikeout. It’s all about hindsight when we criticize bullpen moves -- or the very rare times we praise them -- but Vogt nailed this pivot to Espino.
“It was at a spot where, with the top of the order coming up for the third time, I felt like Espino was going to be able to handle those three guys,” Vogt said. “And then the plan wasn't necessarily for Joey [Cantillo] to only go one, but obviously when you flip the game, it's time to go. Credit to the bullpen. They were outstanding yet again. Foster was unbelievable after a rocky first.”
Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski and Cade Smith took it home for the Guardians, holding it down while the game moved from a loss to a win, then a lead so big that it wasn’t even a save situation.
“Their pitching did a really good job,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “I would like to think that we can put a little bit more offense together, scratch and claw, get a couple more runs or knock a ball out of the ballpark. But Griffin settled in after the first inning. Espino comes in, they get to their bullpen, their high-leverage arms, and they become very challenging to piece together big innings with.”
These are the edges the Guardians need if they’re going to pull off this ALCS upset over Tampa Bay. They’re clear underdogs against the 98-win Rays, but they were clever underdogs down 0-2 to the White Sox in the ALDS, too. If the Guardians keep pitching like this, they’ll just need one big hit to steal another game.
They have to feel great about how this lines up now, too, with Parker Messick lined up to start Game 2 and then Gavin Williams their likely Game 3 starter. Williams is fresh off striking out 12 and 11 batters in his two starts against the White Sox and, in the middle, even snuck in a relief appearance in Game 4. He’s having a special postseason.
If those two can handle their business? This starts to get awfully interesting.
“I believe we've got the best bullpen in the league,” said Patrick Bailey, who was behind the plate for it all and homered, “and they continue to show that night in, night out.”
This group’s next test comes Tuesday night in Game 2, back at Tropicana Field with Freddy Peralta going for the Rays. It’s another tough matchup on paper, but on the mound, the Guardians are giving us reason to believe they’ve got a shot.