Guardians offensive outburst leads to playoff history vs. Tigers

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The Cleveland Guardians did not show any rust in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers after having the last five days off. The Guardians earned a first-round bye after having the second-best record in the American League, and came out swinging after their lengthy break.

A five-run first inning highlighted by a three-run home run by Lane Thomas put the Guardians up early against the Tigers. During their early offensive outburst, the Guardians made some incredible history.

The Guardians became the first American League team to ever score five runs before recording an out in a postseason game, per OPTAStats.

This is especially impressive given how impressive the Tigers pitching has been. The Tigers started with an opener, Tyler Holton, who has been one of the most effective relievers in baseball this season. In his first postseason appearance, Holton shut down the Astros in the first inning of Game 2 of the Wild Card round. However, the Guardians were able to get to Holton early, chasing him before he was able to even record an out.

After Holton allowed the first four runners to get on base, the recently-acquired Thomas came up to the plate and crushed a three-run home run to left field to give the Guardians a 5-0 lead and force Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to go to his bullpen early.

Lane Thomas’ second half with the Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians made one of the biggest moves of the trade deadline by acquiring Thomas from Washington Nationals. Thomas has been holding down center field for the Guardians, and while he has not been hitting as well as he usually does, has been better at the plate to end the season.

If Thomas performs like he did in the first half of the season with the Nationals, the Guardians will be a very tough team to beat this postseason.

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