Thomas’ slam off Skubal helps Guardians by Tigers, into ALCS

CLEVELAND — Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas understands moments like the one presented to him in Game 5 of the AL Division Series on Saturday don’t happen often when an ace like Tarik Skubal of the Tigers is on the mound.

Skubal had stymied Cleveland hitters throughout yet another brilliant outing but finally ran into trouble in the fifth inning of the decisive contest between AL Central foes. After Skubal hit Jose Ramirez with a pitch to bring home the tying run, Thomas stepped up to the plate against the likely AL Cy Young Award winner with the bases loaded.

The crowd at Progressive Field finally began to stir after a sleepy first few innings on offense for the home team. Its mood changed in one swing.

“You dream of at-bats like that as a little kid, and to do it on this stage, in this game, and to come through for the guys in the clubhouse, it feels awesome,” Thomas said after hitting a Skubal 97 mph fastball 396 feet to left field for a grand slam. “About the third inning I was talking with some guys, and I’m like, ‘Whatever we’re doing doesn’t seem to be working. We have to put the ball in play.'”

Thomas’ slam propelled the Guardians to a 5-1 lead in an eventual 7-3 triumph. He became the fourth player in MLB postseason history to hit a go-ahead grand slam in a winner-take-all game, according to ESPN Research.

After Cleveland advanced to the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees, teammates heaped praise on Thomas during a champagne-and-cigar-filled celebration inside their clubhouse.

“He’s a great ballplayer,” Josh Naylor said of Thomas, who was acquired in a July trade with the Nationals. “I knew that before we picked him up.”

Ramirez added: “When I got hit, I just knew he would come through. I knew he would.”

The home run was hit 2 feet farther than his first-inning blast in Game 1, a 7-0 win, cementing Thomas as the hero of the series. He has come a long way since the trade considering he hit just .111 with a .197 OBP in his first 20 games with his new team.

“We paid a steep price [three prospects] to get him but hopefully it was to lead to moments like this,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said while wiping his eyes of champagne. “He’s a complete baseball player.”

Thomas just needed to get his “feet under him,” according to Cleveland hitting coach Chris Valaika.

“We went through a little evolution with him,” Valaika said. “Once he became one of the guys here, he we fine.”

No matter how he was feeling, facing Skubal was a daunting task. Until he hit Ramirez with the bases loaded, the 27-year-old left-hander had thrown 17 scoreless innings in the postseason, including seven against Cleveland in Game 2. There was no solving him to that point, but Valaika at least wanted his hitters to remember one thing: “Don’t be late on that first fastball.”

Thomas made sure of that and instantly changed the course of the game. His home run helped manager Stephen Vogt navigate his bullpen a bit easier after he removed starter Matthew Boyd after just two innings.

“There were a couple times that we had to kind of go off the script, but at the same time, it was watch the game, see what the game is telling us to do,” Vogt said.

Eventually, the ball landed in closer Emmanuel Clase‘s hand for a potential six-out save. The AL saves leader had been burned for a three-run homer by Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter in Game 2, then was touched for another run in a Guardians win in Game 4.

But Saturday it was time for some redemption.

He struck out Carpenter on an epic eight-pitch at-bat with a runner on in the eighth inning — then stared him down. Seven of the eight pitches he threw were at least 100 mph.

“It went from 100 to 150,” Clase said through an interpreter of his intensity. “I’m a competitor. That was in my mind. That wasn’t my best pitch [in Game 2]. People were saying, ‘He’s my daddy.’ That’s the real Emmanuel Clase. … Even when he was on deck, I kept staring at him because that was my moment. This made it even for us.”

Clase got his moment and a few more as he shut the door in the ninth inning, putting an end to a wholly entertaining five-game series.

“This was an incredible series,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “It’s great for baseball. It’s great for the AL Central.”

And it was great for Thomas, who shook off early struggles to become a Cleveland hero. His home run off one of the best pitchers in baseball has his team four wins from the Fall Classic.

“Definitely had some struggles those first two weeks, or maybe even the month,” Thomas said. “But I’m just thankful they kind of hung with me and let me get my feet under me and kept giving me at-bats. You just have to be thankful for that.”