The Guardians kept themselves squarely in the postseason picture Tuesday night, edging the Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park and trimming their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to two.
It took a ninth-inning push to do it. Chase DeLauter sparked the rally by getting hit by a pitch, then moved to third when Jo Adell lined a single to right. From there, Nathaniel Lowe lifted a sacrifice fly that brought DeLauter home with the winning run.
Cade Smith handled the bottom of the ninth without allowing a run, locking down his 40th save.
Cleveland stayed on top of the AL Central with the victory, and Parker Messick gave them a chance to finish the job long before the late drama. The left-hander worked five innings and allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five, leaving with a one-run lead and a shot at his 13th win.
The Guardians built that lead early. In the second inning, David Fry singled in Angel Martinez for the game’s first run, and Martinez later scored again when Brayan Rocchio grounded into a double play. Martinez finished with three hits.
Boston answered in the bottom of the second to get on the board, but Messick settled in after that. He ultimately got a no decision when the Red Sox clawed even later.
The tying run came in the eighth, when pinch hitter Mickey Gasper led off the inning with a solo homer off Hunter Gaddis. Gasper came into the plate appearance in a 4-for-32 slump, and the shot was his 10th of the season.
Cleveland’s playoff-clinching number now sits at two. In the AL Central, the Guardians are 82-75, with the White Sox 1.5 games back at 80-76. In the AL wild card race, the Red Sox entered Tuesday at 84-72, while the White Sox, Blue Jays and Astros were all clustered behind them.
The Guardians and Red Sox meet again Wednesday, Sept. 23, with Foster Griffin scheduled to start for Cleveland. The clubs play once more Sept. 24 before the Guardians finish the regular season with three games in Kansas City from Sept. 25-27.
In Other News...
Guardians Moved Within Reach Of October After A Win That Got Tense
The Guardians gave themselves another October boost with a fast start and enough steady work from the mound to hold off a late push. Angel Martnez, David Fry and Nathaniel Lowe all helped build the early cushion, and Parker Messick did his part in a five-inning start before the bullpen took over to finish the job.
Tim Herrin, Craig Yoho, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith each had a hand in protecting the lead, keeping Cleveland in control even as the game tightened down the stretch. The win leaves the Guardians with a magic number of two to clinch a playoff spot, and depending on how the other results break, it could shrink to one before long. [Read more 🡒]
Vogts Late-Game Guardians Move Is Becoming A Real October Weapon
Travis Bazzanas rookie season has come with the usual growing pains, and for Stephen Vogt, that has meant getting creative when games tighten up late. The Guardians manager has turned to Angel Genao as a defensive replacement in key spots, using his versatility around the infield to help shore up a young roster when the margin for error shrinks. It is the sort of September adjustment contenders make when every clean inning and every sure-handed exchange starts to matter more.
Against the Red Sox, that move paid off in a big way, as Genao made a crucial defensive play that helped close out the win and trim Clevelands magic number to clinch a postseason berth. The contrast between the two young infielders has become part of the clubs late-game equation, with Genao offering the steadier glove right now while Bazzana continues to work through the challenges of his first full season. For a team trying to lock down October, those small swaps can carry outsized weight. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Have A Painful October Decision On Tanner Bibee
The Guardians have put themselves in a strong spot in the AL Central and are lining up to spend October with a pitching staff built around Parker Messick and Gavin Williams. That kind of stability matters even more when the calendar flips, and it is part of why Cleveland can afford to think carefully about how it handles Tanner Bibee as the postseason approaches.
Bibees recent struggles and uneven performance have raised real questions about whether he can be trusted in the biggest games, and Jensen Lewis has pointed to the numbers as reason for caution. For a team that wants every edge it can get in October, the decision is not simply about talent. It is about whether Cleveland is willing to lean on a pitcher whose role may no longer be as secure as it looked earlier in the year. [Read more 🡒]