CLEVELAND -- Two years ago, Guardians reliever Sam Hentges was part of Cleveland’s alternate training site, after the Minor League season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he’s almost single-handedly responsible for getting his team into the American League Division Series.

Hentges was coming off a shaky year. He went just 2-13 in 26 starts for Double-A Akron, pitching to a 5.11 ERA with a 1.648 WHIP, while averaging 4.5 walks per nine innings. He was trying to find a way to crack into the organization’s long line of starting-pitching depth, but with Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger already in the rotation and Triston McKenzie on the verge of making his debut, Hentges wasn’t close to getting the attention he was searching for.

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The lefty showed up to Spring Training in 2021, hoping to catch the big league coaching staff’s attention. He got his first call up to the Majors in April and he tried to work out of the bullpen for a handful of appearances. After that wasn’t tremendously successful, he was temporarily penciled into the rotation and struggled even more. His role bounced back and forth from reliever to starter, as Cleveland’s rotation sustained injuries that prompted replacements. In this shuffle, Hentges could not find his consistent footing.

But in 2022, something changed.

From the start of the year, the lefty knew he was going to be working out of the 'pen. The Guardians’ rotation was locked in with Bieber, McKenzie, Plesac, Civale and Cal Quantrill. All his attention could be geared toward relieving, and for the first few weeks of the season, he thrived. It wasn’t until the end of June through the middle of July that Hentges hit a rough patch again and was used in lower-leverage situations. And just three months later, he tossed three scoreless frame in a 1-0, 15-inning victory to clinch a spot in the ALDS.

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“It's amazing to think about where Sam has come,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said, “beginning as a starter, finding that transition, having some bumps in the road along the way at the Major League level and emerging, in our view, as one of the most dominant left-handed relievers in the American League.”

In the second half of the season, Hentges proved to be one of the most reliable relievers in the Guardians 'pen. He owned a mere 0.30 ERA in 29 2/3 innings with a 0.573 WHIP. His velocity jumped over one mph from last season, while the hard hit percentage of hitters against him plummeted by over 7 percent and the whiff percentage increased by 5.4 percent.

“It's really cool to see him grow as not only a baseball player but as a man and understand what he has to do on a mound,” Guardians bullpen coach Brian Sweeney said. “It was really cool for him to be out there and do what he did.”

On Saturday, it seemed inevitable that every reliever would be called on. Tension grew as each scoreless inning passed. Hentges watched six other relievers follow McKenzie’s strong six-inning start. When he was called on in the 13th, he knew he needed to follow suit. But little did he know he’d be used for multiple frames.

“Not really,” Hentges said, when asked if he felt pressure. “At the end of the game coming out of the bullpen, you pitch in situations that every pitch matters, especially in the playoffs. That's how you have to attack it as a relief pitcher, but I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes and let the defense take care of the rest, and they did a phenomenal job.”

Hentges was the hero of the night, giving the Guardians three critical scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks, giving them just enough time to secure the walk-off victory.

“Sam Hentges, three innings right there, is about as special as it gets,” Guardians backstop Austin Hedges said. “For a guy who’s never done it before, to go out in big situation after big situation and get those outs, that’s so, so special.”

Hentges no longer needs to search for a role on this team. He’s found his spot as a dominant lefty reliever who’s capable of handling high-leverage situations, and he’s ready to continue to prove that he can consistently perform at this elite level.

“This is something that you think about all the time and this is what you play the game for,” Hentges said. “You play it for the playoffs and big situations and you come in here and celebrate with your teammates.”