Guardians party on their way to ALDS

Guardians 1, Rays 0

Box Score | Game Thread | MLB Recap | CTC Recap

Fourteen innings of silence followed by one loud blast. Oscar Gonzalez surprised newcomers with his SpongeBob walk-up music on Friday, and on Saturday he introduced them to his bat with a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 15th inning.

Triston McKenzie’s postseason debut was a rousing success as he held the Rays scoreless over six innings with eight strikeouts and only two hits allowed. He and the other seven pitchers Terry Francona used set an MLB postseason record with their combined 15 shutout innings.

Shirtless Austin Hedges also made his glorious return post-game.

Cleveland Guardians news

Guardians fans celebrate on the streets of Cleveland after winning first playoff series since 2016 | WKYC
It wasn’t just players who were elated to win their first postseason series since 2016. Cleveland Guardians fans took to the streets following the dramatic win. Hopefully, they all get three more celebrations.

Ramírez, Naylor make ‘unbelievable play’ in 12th | MLB
You don’t get to 15 scoreless innings without an unbelievable defensive play or two. For the Guardians, theirs came in the 12th when José Ramírez and Josh Naylor both made outstanding plays to get the third out and prevent a run from scoring.

Saunders: Hey Rockies fans, adopt the Guardians as your playoff team | The Denver Post
The “Cleveland Rox” mantra is alive and well, as this Denver-based newspaper makes a plea for Rockies fans to root for the Guardians. And it’s true — if you’re a fan of an old-school underdog, you can’t go wrong with this Guards team.

Sam Hentges highlights a dominant day for Guardians’ bullpen in AL wild card clincher | Cleveland
Sam Hentges’ heroics in Game 2 cannot be overstated. The starter-turned-reliever threw three scoreless innings and he’s emerged as a true lefty weapon out of the bullpen.

Guardians vs. Rays: Four crazy stats from Cleveland’s marathon victory in Wild Card Series | CBS Sports

While this was only the second postseason game to ever be scoreless heading into the 12th or later, it was the sixth postseason game to be scoreless through 10 innings, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. This was just the second time since the last round of expansion (1998) that a playoff game was scoreless into extra innings:

Around the league

• The Mariners overcame an 8-1 deficit to beat the Blue Jays and sweep the Wild Card.
• The Mets survived the Padres to force a Game 3 later today.
• The Phillies eliminated the Cardinals and ended the careers of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.
• George Springer is OK after a scary collision in the outfield.
• Mariners fans are wild and that’s why we love them.
• Justin Verlander is starting Game 1 in the ALDS (duh).
• The Padres are looking at extending Yu Darvish.
• The Rangers say they are going to increase payroll this offseason.