DETROIT — Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson each drove in a run, and six pitchers combined to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 3-0 win over Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.
The Tigers, baseball’s hottest team the past two months, will have their first chance to advance to the American League Championship Series since 2013 on Thursday night in Game 4 at Comerica Park.
”We’re human,” Torkelson said. ”We know how close we are.”
Cleveland has gone 20 straight innings without scoring since opening the series with a five-run first and a two-run sixth in its 7-0 win. Steven Kwan had three of its six hits in Game 3.
”Short sample size, obviously in the playoffs it’s a lot more magnified,” David Fry said after going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, contributing to the team’s eight runners left on base. ”I think guys have hit balls hard. Balls aren’t really falling.”
After AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal helped Detroit shut out Cleveland in Game 2, manager A.J. Hinch put a stream of pitchers on the mound and kept the Guardians quiet at the plate.
Detroit reliever Will Vest entered with two on and two outs in the seventh, and Fry lined to a leaping Matt Vierling at third.
”He likes to pull the ball a lot, so I was ready for anything that came my way,” Vierling said. ”I didn’t have time to think. I just had to react.”