The first game of the 2022 MLB postseason has concluded. The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series on Friday afternoon. Cleveland is up 1-0 in the best-of-three series. The winner advances to the ALDS, where they will face the New York Yankees.
The Guardians won Game 1 after Shane outdueled Shane and José outslugged Jose. The fast-paced pitchers' duel lasted only two hours and 17 minutes, making it the shortest postseason game since the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the 1999 NLDS in two hours and 13 minutes.
Every team expects their ace to set the tone in Game 1, and it will be difficult to outperform Shane Bieber on Friday. The 2020 AL Cy Young winner cruised through 7 2/3 innings, with a solo homer by Jose Siri in the sixth inning being the only blemish. He was able to directly throw the ball to closer Emmanuel Clase for the four-out save.
Bieber is the first Cleveland pitcher to go seven innings in a postseason game since Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) walked 9 innings inside the club's 11-inning victory over the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS.
Bieber had a 2.88 ERA with 198 strikeouts in 200 innings pitched this year. In Game 1, his average strikeout rate was 91.8 mph, up from 91.3 mph in the regular season. Put it down to postseason adrenaline. During his Cy Young season, Bieber's heater averaged 94.1 mph. The velocity hasn't fully recovered from his last shoulder dislocation, but Bieber's instruction is so great and his supplementary pitchers are so strong that he can still dominate.
Cleveland now leads the best-of-three series 1-0. In Game 2, they'll send righty Triston McKenzie to the mound, while Tyler Glasnow will attempt to save Tampa's season. Glasnow decided to return from Tommy John surgery in September (his first game back was against the Guardians) and he has yet to put more than 64 pitches in a game. This ensures that the bullpen will be used.
0 comments:
Post a Comment