Lane

Thomas

The Guardians trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning against future Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, but after Jose Ramirez was plunked with the bases loaded to tie the game, Thomas swatted a grand slam off Skubal to give the Guardians a 5-1 lead and ultimately a win. He drove in another run with an infield single in the seventh. It was the second homer of the series for the former National outfielder, and it gave him nine RBI in the best-of-five tilt. Game 1 of the ALCS will take place Monday in New York.

The Guardians got all of those runs before an out was even recorded, with Thomas homering as the first batter off Reese Olsen after opener Tyler Holton was pulled. The Guardians were pretty quiet the rest of the way, but it never did turn into a contest, as Cleveland was just fine using its best relievers in advance of Sunday’s off day. Game 2 will come Monday and feature a Tarik Skubal-Matthew Boyd matchup that would seem to favor Detroit.

Thomas got the scoring started with a two-run shot off Carson Spiers in the first inning and then added an RBI groundout in the seventh inning. Thomas now has 15 home runs on the season and has heated up in September after a cold stretch as soon as he was traded to the Guardians. In 22 games this month, Thomas is hitting 23-for-80 (.288) with seven home runs, 12 runs scored, 20 RBI, and one steal.

Thomas hit a solo shot off Zebby Matthews for his 13th home run on the season. After struggling when he was first traded to the Guardians, Thomas has woken up in September, hitting 19-for-60 (.317) in 16 games with five home runs, nine runs scored, and 16 RBI.

All four RBI came on a pair of infield singles. On both plays, a runner was able to race around from second to home on a too-late throw to first base. Thomas, who was losing playing time against righties last month, is back starting regularly now after heating up at the plate. He’s 15-for-37 with three homers this month, raising his OPS from .674 to .718.

Thomas doubled to lead off the second inning and scored on a base hit by Kyle Manzardo. He later took Gus Varland deep for a three-run homer in the sixth to give Cleveland a four-run lead over the White Sox. The 29-year-old outfielder is hitting .242/.317/.394 with 11 homers, 57 runs scored, 52 RBI, and 32 steals across 467 plate appearances.

Thomas has started against most righties of late, not because he’s done well against them but because the Guardians’ alternatives have failed to step up. His homer tonight did come against a righty in Michael Grove. Thomas is batting .198/.274/.317 with a ridiculous 41 strikeouts in 101 plate appearances for the Guardians.

The home run was Thomas’ ninth of the season and the stolen base was his 32nd. He hit a two-run shot off Michael Wacha in the fifth inning. It was Thomas’ first home run in 30 games with the Guardians. He also had a three-hit game on Sunday so maybe it’s starting to turn for Thomas at the plate. He’s hitting .239 with a .695 OPS and 46 RBI this year.

The 29-year-old has gotten off to a terrible start in his Guardians career hitting .145/.233/.197 with 34 strikeouts in 25 games. That’s not the type of impact the team was hoping to get from him after acquiring him from the Nationals at the trade deadline. Will Brennan will start in center field with Jhonkensy Noel in right field, but the Guardians will certainly hope a day off here and there wakes up Thomas’ bat.

Thomas appeared to be a good pickup by the Guardians at the trade deadline, but the 28-year-old outfielder hasn’t taken well to the change of scenery. He’s 6-for-53 (.113) with no home runs and no RBI in 16 games for the Guardians. Maybe it turns around for him soon, but he’s already been moved down in the lineup and could be headed for the short side of a platoon soon.