AL Central champion Guardians unable to maintain momentum in Wild Card Series loss to Tigers

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians staged the largest in-season comeback in MLB history, claiming the American League Central Division title after trailing Detroit by 15 1/2 games in early July and by 11 games in early September.

That momentum didn’t carry over into the playoffs.

Dillon Dingler, from northeast Ohio, hit a go-ahead, solo homer in the sixth inning and the Tigers scored five straight runs to beat Cleveland 6-3 in the decisive Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series on Thursday.

“I’ll remember the good times of the year, not what happened today,” All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan said in a quiet home clubhouse after the loss. “But you’ve got to remember this feeling, because you don’t want to feel like this again.”

One year after eliminating Detroit in the AL Division Series and advancing to the AL Championship Series, the Guardians’ postseason ended in the first round. They have not won the World Series since 1948, when the then-Indians defeated the Boston Braves.

“It’s going to sting a lot, but I believe we can get better,” All-Star third baseman José Ramírez said through an interpreter. “Always, you feel bad after this, but you’ve got to keep your head up and work harder for next season.”

An 88-74 overall record and 20-7 mark in September earned Cleveland home-field advantage for every Wild Card Series game, but its moribund offense took a step backward against Detroit after hitting a franchise-record low .226 in the regular season.

The Guardians batted .178 and managed just 16 hits in the series. They scored five runs and received homers from Brayan Rocchio and Bo Naylor in the eighth inning of Game 2 — equaling their combined scoring total from the other 26 innings.

“We can nitpick and talk about little things here, little things there, but at the end of the day, we just need to execute in all areas of the game,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said.

“I’m proud of what we accomplished, but it’s not enough. We want more. We show up every year to win a World Series. No excuses. Nothing else.”

Ramírez, Kwan, Rocchio, George Valera and Gabriel Arias led the Guardians with two hits apiece, while Naylor was their only player with multiple RBIs — all three on his home run. Rookie Valera (.286) and Ramírez (.250) had the only averages above .222.

Cleveland’s front office was so desperate for production going into the series, it promoted top prospect Chase DeLauter from Triple-A Columbus for the first time. He went 1 for 6 with an error in center field.

Ramírez, who has spent his entire 13-year career in Cleveland, was asked if the financially challenged franchise needed to add veteran bats in the offseason.

“You’ll have to ask the management,” he said. “Ask (team president Chris) Antonetti because I’m only here to make us better.”

The Guardians’ bullpen struggled in the finale, as well, as the typically reliable Erik Sabrowski and Hunter Gaddis surrendered four runs in 2/3 of an inning as Detroit extended its lead to 6-1 in the seventh.

They, along with Cade Smith, pitched in all three games in high-leverage situations. Their workload was a residual effect of the July 28 loss of All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase to an ongoing paid leave due to an MLB sports betting investigation.

Smith, who assumed Clase’s role, worked 3 1/3 scoreless postseason innings and was the winner in Game 2. He did hit a pair of batters and walked two.

“We didn’t have a guy that threw three days in a row, but they did,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “At some point, it just catches up to you with the intensity of the pitches and the magnitude of the moment. And we capitalized.”

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