Cleveland Guardians crush Detroit Tigers with huge first inning in ALDS Game 1 win

CLEVELAND — The Guardians overwhelmed the Tigers. They bull-rushed Detroit. They sent a heavy blitz and faced no resistance.

In reality, it appeared the Tigers weren't ready for "Guards Ball," as the Guardians cruised to a 7-0 win in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.

The Guardians had to wait six days to play their first postseason game. So they waited. And they waited. They played a few sim games in the meantime. They had some workouts. And then they waited some more.

The first moment they were able to step into the batter's box, like a bull charging out of the starting gate, the Guardians brought their brand of baseball into the postseason with a thunderous entrance.

Guardians bring 'Guards Ball' into October with ALDS Game 1 win over Detroit Tigers

"Guards Ball," as they call it, hit the Tigers' "Pitching chaos" strategy like a Mike Tyson uppercut just a few seconds after the opening bell.

That term — "Guards Ball" — has been used all season at various times. It means a lot of things, but together, the Guardians have created a clear sentiment — and the message was never more apparent than in Game 1.

It means a relentless approach to hitting. It means taking the extra base and applying pressure on the basepaths. It means an overwhelming sense of contact at the plate as a way to score runs, propped up by the league's best bullpen that has turned teams attempting comebacks late in games into a nightmare for opponents.

Lane Thomas' massive, three-run home run is just the bonus. Steven Kwan jumping on a ball for a double, David Fry drawing a walk and Jose Ramirez at least putting the ball in play to apply some pressure on the defense, which led to an error? That's what the Guardians mean when they say "Guards Ball."

The Guardians have tried to outwork and outhustle their opponents, and they did that well enough to secure a 92-win regular season in only 161 games. On Saturday, "Guards ball" secured Cleveland's first playoff win.

"It's a blast," said manager Stephen Vogt, referencing their style of play. "I mean, our guys run hard, play hard, work hard before the game. And, again, you try to cause chaos on offense, and our guys did that today with the infield single, just trying to make things happen. Like I said, we get the break in the first inning, but our guys kept their heads down, and they're running hard."

"It's who we are."

Tanner Bibee delivers in ALDS Game 1 with some help from Shane Bieber

For three days leading up to Tanner Bibee's first ever playoff start, his stomach was in knots.

This was the biggest outing of his life thus far. The extra days off left him with only time to think and stew on the opportunity ahead.

He first sought some advice from a mental coach. The response was there's no changing how nervous Bibee will be — but that doesn't mean that energy can't be used in a more positive manner.

"I texted him, I was like, 'Hey, man, my stomach has been hurting for the past three days. What do I need to do here?'" Bibee said. "He talked about keeping the butterflies in formation because you're going to have butterflies. You're going to be nervous because you care. So just keeping that adrenaline, keeping that, like, anxiety, keeping that excitement going in the right direction can only help you."

Bibee also received some help from a teammate who hasn't been seen in the Guardians clubhouse as much this year — former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, who has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery but is in Cleveland for the playoffs. Bibee and Bieber talked Saturday morning about dealing with the nerves of starting in the postseason for the first time.

"Ever since I made my debut last year, Shane has been kind of like my mentor," Bibee said. "And having him kind of be away has been kind of tough. But, I mean, we all figure it out. But having him here before that, his words before the game definitely really helped me."

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Nervous or not, Bibee delivered on the mound. He pitched 4⅔ scoreless innings, allowed just four hits and struck out six. He offered the Guardians exactly the kind of start they needed, with or without a five-run cushion in the first inning.

Much has been made about the Guardians turning over their rotation — due to Bieber's injury and Triston McKenzie losing his command — to Bibee. He certainly stepped up Saturday.

And while the Guardians will lean on their bullpen as much as possible this October, Bibee is a massive piece to their postseason hopes. His first postseason outing will only further their optimism he can handle such a role.

Cade Smith shows he can be a weapon in 2024 MLB playoffs

It was all with at least a five-run lead, so it wasn't exactly the highest of leverage situations. But the Guardians bullpen again proved it could be the single most dangerous unit for any team in this postseason.

In all, the bullpen pitched 4⅓ hitless innings, allowing only one baserunner. The Tigers never sniffed a scoring threat once the game was turned over to it.

But more than anything, it showed how much of a weapon Cade Smith — who Austin Hedges called the second-best reliever in baseball — can really be in these playoffs.

Emmanuel Clase has the ninth (and possibly part of the eighth). But earlier in games, the Guardians know they can first turn to Smith, which sometimes will mean him pitching in the biggest situations if there are runners on base.

It might not be fair to bring up this name, but it could almost be similar to how Andrew Miller was used in 2016 ahead of Cody Allen. Cleveland turned to Miller to clean up any mess and often face a team's best hitters. With Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and others also available, this Guardians bullpen is deeper than the 2016 version. But Smith has been especially lethal and could often be asked to secure some crucial outs.

In Game 1, Smith faced four batters. He struck them all out.

"I mean, at this point, Cade's been so special," Vogt said. "And you never want to say you're not surprised, but what Cade has done all year long, what Timmy has done all year long, Gaddy, Clase, a number of our bullpen guys, and pitching in general has been fun. But Cade, there's no heartbeat. There's no pulse. It's just come in and get the job done."

Bibee badly wanted to stay in the game and try to finish the fifth inning. But he also can't complain when he knows Smith is entering the game. It's pretty understandable to want to use such an option as much as possible.

"I mean, I feel like everyone in this world knows that whenever Cade Smith is coming in that you're going to get a pretty good performance," Bibee said. "I mean, giving the ball up with him, I've done it a bunch of times this year where I come out in the middle of an inning and Cade comes in, and I feel like almost every time he shut the door."

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians crush Tigers: Cleveland has huge inning in ALDS Game 1 win