Detroit Tigers' Sean Guenther pitches in the sixth inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland.David Dermer/The Associated Press
Five batters in, the Tigers were down 5-0 and finished.
For the first time in months, Detroit didn’t look baseball’s hottest team or like it belonged anywhere near the playoffs.
Manager A.J. Hinch’s decision to not use a traditional starter in Game 1 of the AL Division Series backfired as Tyler Holton failed to record an out and reliever Reese Olson gave up a three-run homer to Lane Thomas in the first inning a s the Cleveland Guardians rolled to a 7-0 win.
The Tigers came in feeling confident after going 31-13 since Aug. 11 to earn a post-season berth before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wild-card round.
But a horrific start – set up by third baseman Zach McKinstry’s fielding error in the first – led to Detroit being handed its worst shutout loss since Game 1 of the 1945 World Series.
“When they punch you with five in the first, it’s hard to overcome,” Hinch said. “I thought Holton rarely gives up back-to-back anything, let alone like guys getting on base. And we never recovered.”
The Tigers had a chance to land the first blow, but they stranded two runners in the first against Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee.
The Guardians pounced.
Steven Kwan led off with double off the wall in right and Holton walked David Fry. José Ramírez followed with a grounder down the line that caught McKinstry in between hops, got past him and allowed Kwan to score.
McKinstry blamed himself and the grounds crew.
“I tried to make a play and I didn’t – and we ended up losing the game because of it,” he said. ”They watered the field before the game, but they didn’t water it for the game and it took a weird hop. Ramirez hit a ball down the line and it took a bad hop when I tried to block it. Sometimes they bounce in our favour and sometimes they don’t.”
Hinch sensed McKinstry’s error could multiply.
“Obviously, as things were snowballing a little bit, the energy in the park, the not recording an out and just sort of stopping – or at least limiting some of the momentum is key,” Hinch said. “But the in-between hop is a do-or-die play, and that’s the die part.”
The mistake became magnified when Josh Naylor hit an RBI single to chase Holton. Hinch brought in Reese Olson, who then made another mistake with a pitch right down the middle to Thomas, who belted it into the left-field bleachers.
5-0. Ball game.
“The first pitch, I hung a real bad slider,” Olson said. “He was looking for it and he hit it.”
The Tigers couldn’t get anything going on offence against Bibee or Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen, which combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings. Detroit hitters struck out 13 times, and the Tigers didn’t get a runner past first over the final five innings.
There was no panic afterward. The Tigers weren’t supposed to be here anyway and one bad game wasn’t going to get them down.
“We have to keep playing our game against them,” said outfielder Parker Meadows. “They’ve been really good all year and we know that, but we’ve been pretty good, as well.”
If there is a positive, the Tigers have Tarik Skubal on deck.
The left-hander led the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts, and he'll start Game 2 on Monday following a day of rest the Tigers could use after starting the week in Texas, spending a day in Michigan and the weekend in Ohio.
“We’re very confident because of what he’s been able to do all year,” Meadows said of Skubal. “We just have to flush this one quick.”