Cleveland Guardians’ Lane Thomas makes postseason history with Clutch Grand Slam

It looked like Tarik Skubal was on his way to another postseason gem, but when the presumptive AL Cy Young winner finally found himself on shaky ground, the Cleveland Guardians took advantage in historic fashion.

The Detroit Tigers held a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 5 of the ALDS on Saturday. Then their ace loaded the bases and third baseman José Ramírez plummeted, allowing his first run in his final 28.0 innings.

With one out, Skubal got a chance to limit the damage when center fielder Lane Thomas came on the board. Instead, Thomas jumped on the first pitch he saw and blew the game wide open.

Thomas crushed a ball from 380 feet to left-center field, clearing the fence for a grand slam to take the lead.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Thomas became the seventh player in MLB postseason history to hit a grand slam in a winner-take-all game. Howie Kendrick, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, Johnny Damon, Troy O’Leary and Bill Skowron make up the rest of the list.

Thomas is the only one on that list to hit home, and one of four to give his team an edge in the process, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

There are now five players in Cleveland franchise history who have achieved a grand slam in the playoffs. Thomas’ is the team’s first since Francisco Lindor hit one in Game 2 of the 2017 ALDS.

Thomas joins Albert Belle and Elmer Smith as the only players on that exclusive list whose grand slams were also go-ahead bombs, according to Justin Havens of Underdog Fantasy. Belle hit his in Game 3 of the 1996 ALDS, while Smith’s came in Game 5 of the 1920 World Series.

Thomas, who hit just .209 with a .657 OPS after being traded away from the Washington Nationals this summer, is now hitting .316 with a .948 OPS so far in these playoffs. The 29-year-old also hit a home run in Game 1 of the ALDS last Saturday, in addition to driving in a run in Game 4.

The Guardians defeated the Tigers 7-3 on Saturday to advance to the ALCS. Their series against the New York Yankees starts Monday.

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