Lane Thomas hit a 3-run homer to lead the Guardians to a 7-0 win in the ALDS opener.

Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer in a five-run outburst before Detroit exited, and the Cleveland Guardians let their bullpen complete a four-hitter in a 7-0 victory over the Tigers in the AL Division Series. opens on Saturday.

Thomas’ shooting — in his first swing of the postseason — helped the Guardians cool off the Tigers, who entered the playoffs with a second-half surge before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wildcard round.

“It started with the guys in front of me,” said Thomas.

Tanner Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings before Guardians manager Stephen Vogt opened the door for baseball’s best bullpen to finish off the Tigers. The relievers combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings to finish and match Cleveland’s largest shutout margin of victory in postseason history.

Detroit scored 13 times and didn’t get a runner on first in the last four innings.

Cleveland’s bullpen was advertised. Rookie Cade Smith (1-0) came in for Bibee and struck out all four batters. Tim Herrin had the seventh, Hunter Gaddis the eighth, and Emmanuel Clase, who led the AL with 47 saves, worked the ninth.

“It’s amazing. To come out and do what they do, day in and day out, especially during the season, 162 (games), shows what we have back there,” Thomas said.

David Fry added a two-run, sixth-inning double for the AL Central champion Guardians, who were untouched for nearly a week with a first-round bye.

Game 2 is on Monday, when the Tigers will turn to Tarik Skubal, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award, to try to even the best-of-five series.

The 2,327 meeting between Detroit and Cleveland was the first between the franchises and Central Division rivals in the postseason.

It was like it was over after one inning.

Tigers manager AJ Hinch made the right decisions for months as his young club went from being below .500 at the deadline to qualifying for the postseason with a 33-13 success since Aug. 11.

Hinch used his bullpen in Game 1 from the start and got him back.

Guardian sent nine batters into the first and Thomas’ moon shot into the left field Miners opened up a 5-0 lead. Cleveland became the first team in AL postseason history to score five runs before recording a shutout.

Steven Kwan got it rolling on a double against Tigers starter Tyler Holton (0-1) and Fry walked. José Ramírez followed with a hard hopper to third when Zach McKinstry fouled out on an error, allowing Kwan to score.

Josh Naylor’s RBI single made it 2-0 and Hinch pulled Holton shortly after striking out four to bring in Reese Olson — a move that blew up in the seconds.

Thomas, who hit just .143 with 33 hits in his first month with Cleveland after being acquired from Washington in July, made his first at-bat with the Rangers a memorable one.

He uncorked Olson’s first pitch — a slider down the heart of the plate — and launched it over the wall, sending most of the 33,548 fans inside Progressive Field into frenzy.

Bibee admitted he was feeling good before the opener, and he showed something in the first.

He gave up a single and hit Riley Greene with two outs, prompting a visit from pitching coach Carl Willis. Bibee got Colt Keith on a lazy fly for the final out on his 27th pitch.

Taking the mound in the second with a five-run lead helped Bibee settle. The right-hander gave up four balls and struck six.

COACH’S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb, a Game 3 starting candidate, was added to the ALDS roster after finishing the regular season on the injured list with a blister on his middle finger. Cobb’s postseason experience — he beat Cleveland in the 2013 wild-card round against Tampa Bay — certainly helped his cause and Vogt’s teammate. Cobb was acquired in a trade in July from San Francisco.

UP NEXT

Skubal led the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228). The lefty is expected to face RHP Matthew Boyd, who spent eight seasons with the Tigers and is still good friends with Skubal.

It is reported by the Associated Press.

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