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ATLANTA -- Tanner Bibee hadn’t gotten himself ready to get on the bus back to the hotel yet. He hadn’t gotten the recovery tape off of his shoulders. He hadn’t met with the media. What he needed to do first was perfectly position the Guardians’ WWE Championship belt on the shelf in his locker before he did anything else.

No, Bibee wasn’t the pitcher who had the "W" beside his name. He wasn’t the guy in the spotlight in the 11th inning to lift Cleveland to a 4-2 victory over one of the hottest teams in the Majors. But Bibee was the most important piece of the Guardians’ win over the Braves on Saturday, and it’s exactly what this team needed to see out of him.

The Guardians have had a difficult time with their starting rotation. Not only is Shane Bieber out for the year due to a UCL issue in his right arm and Gavin Williams (right elbow discomfort) dealing with a slight setback in his recovery, but the rest of the starters were struggling to make it through six innings -- including Bibee. Entering his sixth start, he needed to get over that six-inning hump against one of the best lineups in the Majors in order to give his offense a chance to win the game.

For the first time this year, he was absolutely spectacular.

“I think that’s what you dream of,” Bibee said. “An important game like that and coming through.”

Bibee allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out nine batters without issuing a walk. Not only was it his first outing that lasted at least six innings, but it was also his first scoreless performance of the year. What was the difference?

“We cleaned some stuff up throughout this week,” Bibee said. “I think [it was just a] different mindset. I was able to move the fastball around. I was able to get that slider down and away, and I think it really set me up for some success.”

The slider certainly was effective, considering it induced 24 swings, resulting in 10 whiffs. But the command is what made Bibee so dominant. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before the game that the key for his hurler would be attacking hitters, and Bibee did just that. He faced 22 batters. Five of them put the first pitch in play. Of the remaining 17 hitters, Bibee threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of them.

“It seemed like he was getting ahead of everybody, efficient,” Vogt said. “This is exactly what we needed.”

Bibee has now thrown five or more innings with three or fewer runs allowed in 27 of his first 31 career starts, joining Matt Harvey as the only pitchers in AL/NL history to accomplish this feat. He proved as a rookie last year that he can be the guy to step up when injuries are happening around him. With Bieber out for the season, Bibee will need to be the guy to step up yet again, and this is a reminder of how capable he is to do just that.

Bibee made it through seven innings on 91 pitches. Vogt was ready to send him back out to the mound for the eighth when the Guardians plated two runs in in the top half of the frame, causing Bibee to sit in the dugout longer than Vogt would’ve liked if he was going to go back out. So, the skipper decided to turn to his 'pen.

“After we rallied and it was a longer inning, it felt like it was time to move on,” Vogt said. “But that’s how good he was tonight. I did not want him to come out of the game.”

The game ended up going 11 innings. Atlanta tied it in the bottom half of the eighth and Cleveland eventually jumped ahead on a double by Josh Naylor three frames later to win it. Although plenty of events happened after Bibee’s departure, his performance was not forgotten, which is why his teammates awarded him with the WWE belt after the win.

He certainly earned it.

“Tanner Bibee was the story tonight,” Vogt said. “Exactly what we needed, and it was absolutely beautiful.”