The Cleveland Guardians were able to advance to the American League Championship Series with a game 5 victory over their division rival the Detroit Tigers.
After being on the brink of elimination for the last 2 games of the series after going down 2-1, the Guardians pulled through with some great pitching by their bullpen.
Not only did the Guardians’ pitchers have a great series, but they tied a Major League Baseball record in the process.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Guardians held the Tigers to a .109 batting average with runners in scoring position, which was tied for the best in history with the 2019 New York Yankees.
From @EliasSports: Cleveland held Detroit to a .109 batting average (5-for-46) with runners in scoring position in the Division Series. That matched the lowest batting average with RISP (min. 45 AB’s in that
situation) in a postseason series. The Yankees held the Astros to a .109…— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 14, 2024
The .109 batting average with runners in scoring position was the best performance in a postseason series since the 2019 Yankees did the same against the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
This may not come as a huge surprise after seeing that the Guardians’ pitchers led the Majors in the same stat allowing only a .218 batting average with runners in scoring position in the regular season.
Guardians’ pitchers will be tested in the American League Championship Series as the likes of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have a much higher pedigree than the Tigers players.
The Guardians will look to Alex Cobb to start game 1 of the ALCS on Monday.
Cobb started Game 3 against the Tigers where he pitched 3.0 innings allowing 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, and had 2 strikeouts while taking the loss.
The Guardians may look to their dominant bullpen if Cobb runs into trouble early in the game.
NEXT: Stat Shows How Impressive Guardians' Pitching Has Been This Season
