The Detroit Tigers came into Cleveland last night with a 2-1 lead over the 2nd seed Cleveland Guardians. Detroit came into the bottom of the seventh holding onto a 3-2 lead with help from a Zach McKinstry home run. That was until David Fry came into pinch hit for Kyle Manzardo.
This move worked to perfection as David Fry went deep on the sixth pitch of the at-bat. With Steven Kwan on base, the homer gave the Guardians a 4-3 lead. The crowd came back to life, as the momentum completely shifted back to Cleveland.
Emmanuel Clase, one of the MLB’s finest closers, came in to start the ninth and finished the job. He got two batters to ground out and struck out the final batter to force a game 5 back in Cleveland.
“A lot of strong emotions, getting back to this game,” Clase said postgame. “I was really excited to get to the mound, especially getting the trust back from [Stephen Vogt] to get me in that role and that responsibility.”
After the game reporters spoke to an excited David Fry about his clutch hit to keep the Guardian’s season alive. “We’ve shown that all year long, that’s who these guys are. We have a bunch of tough dudes. We get down 2-1 and we’re in the locker room like it’s just another day. We show up ready to play to try and get a win. And let’s go win Game 5.” He said.
Game five was originally scheduled as a night game, but has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. tomorrow due to weather.
The winner of game five will travel to the Bronx to take on the Yankees in game one of the American League Championship Series on Monday evening.
