Guardians flip the script as Vogt goes rogue

Photo by Charles Murray

Cleveland- The Cleveland Guardians are headed to the ALCS for the first time since 2016. They’ll be facing the New York Yankees competing for a spot in the World Series. With the pennant race in full throttle mode there’s a different feel to this playoff team.

Starting in spring training the Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt had laid out a plan for his team. In his first year managing a big league team, he wanted them to work hard and have fun. This became a vibe for the boys of summer. Watching the team and listening to them speak of one another, there was a whole energy and camaraderie that was electric. They thrived all season with Vogt at the helm, ending with a record of 92-69.

The Guardians record earned them a first round bye in the postseason. They were rested and ready to go against a red hot Detroit Tigers team. The Tigers were hungry and proved that they weren’t going to be a team to underestimate.

Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch played a game of chicken with Vogt throughout the series. On paper Hinch had the advantage with his ace pitcher, Tarik Skubal.

Hinch takes pitching matchup calculations to a new level. He consistently holds off on announcing his starting pitcher til the last minute. If Skubal isn’t on the bump than Hinch holds his cards tightly. This caused a change in the way Vogt would handle his game script from pinch hitters entering the game at times when fans scratched their heads. However, the most glaring flip of the script came in the form of the Guardians use of their bullpen.

In the first two games of the series Vogt held both starters Tanner Bibee and Matthew Boyd to 4.2 innings. In Game two Vogt had his stud closer Emmanuel Clase go two innings for only the second time this season. The results showing Clase is in fact mortal as he gave up a 3-run homer to Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter. This would cause the Guardians to lose the game and allow the Tigers to even up the series 1-1.

As Game three was underway Vogt called upon his bullpen even earlier as starter Alex Cobb only went three innings. Clase was called upon once again in Game four to pitch in the 8th inning. He recorded a five-out save to keep the Guardians season alive and send the series back to Cleveland.

The script flip was never more evident than in Game five. Matthew Boyd started the elimination game for Cleveland. He looked solid on the hill through two innings holding Detroit to only one hit and fanning five batters. To the surprise of the Cleveland faithful Vogt didn’t send Boyd back out for the 3rd inning. He instead chose to go to the pen and Cade Smith entered the game for Boyd. This weaving of pitchers continued throughout the game.

Detroit had Skubal starting for Game five and Cleveland’s Lane Thomas stunned the ace with a grand slam in the fifth inning. This ended the 13 scoreless innings Skubal had thrown in the postseason.

The Guardians would tack on two more runs and go on to pop the bubbly as they ended Detroit’s season.

Vogt was asked about his pitching decisions after the game. He answered saying, “Matthew Boyd was outstanding. I think he could have gone longer, but we’ve won with our bullpen all year, and that’s been who we are.” Vogt elaborated stating, “And I think I’ve just learned that there’s times where you can follow script when the game tells you to and there’s other times where you have to rip it up and go rogue, and you can’t be married to one idea.”

Will Vogt make bolder moves in the race to the World Series? Will the stellar Cleveland bullpen hold up? Will the Cleveland fans stand behind Vogt’s script? Hold on…up next the bright lights of New York await…lights, camera, action.