Guardians: Tanner Bibee shakes off nerves, turns in strong outing in postseason debut

CLEVELAND — All it took was a taste of the postseason for Tanner Bibee to settle in. The first playoff start for Cleveland's ace went smoothly, especially after his offense gave him some breathing room as he helped lead the Guardians to a 7-0 win over Detroit in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field. The Guardians will host Game 2 of the best-of-five series Monday. "The past three days I felt like there was a lead block in my stomach," Bibee said. "But once I got through that first inning, I felt like it was a nice weight off my shoulders. I've done a lot in my first two years, and to kind of get that first out of the way was really nice." Bibee led the team in strikeouts with 189 and ranked ninth in the American League during the regular season. He faced Detroit four times in the regular season with a 1-1 record and a 4.50 ERA, though Cleveland won three of those starts. He went six innings in his last start against the Tigers on July 29, working six innings and allowing two earned runs during the 8-4 victory. On Saturday, he shut down Detroit, allowing four hits, one walk and one hit batter with six strikeouts on 76 pitches in 4 2/3 innings. Bibee said he leaned on Shane Bieber, Cleveland's Cy Young winning ace who has been out since the first week of the season, for advice on how to approach his first postseason start. "Ever since I made my debut last year, Shane's been kind of like my mentor," Bibee said. "Having him be away has been kind of tough. Having him here, his words before the game helped me." Bibee got into a little trouble in the first when Kerry Carpenter delivered a one-out single and he hit Riley Greene to give the Tigers two on with two outs, but he got Colt Keith to fly out, ending the rally. Cleveland proceeded to give Bibee plenty of breathing room, scoring five runs in the first. "To see what they did through the first inning, grind through (Detroit's) opener, it's awesome," Bibee said. "I had to be as steady as possible. If they go out there and put up five in the first, but I give up a couple of runs, that five doesn't mean as much. You've got to get excited, but you have to stay locked in because that next inning at that point is the most important inning of the game." Bibee responded by striking out the side in the second, though he fell behind Spencer Torkelson 3-0 on a slider and two sinkers. He then went back to the fastball for three straight strikes. He got Trey Sweeney with a changeup after three straight fastballs, and closed the inning by feeding Jake Rogers a steady dose of sliders. He got two more strikeouts over the next two innings before giving up a two-out single to Parker Meadows in the fifth. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt decided two times through the lineup was enough and went to Cade Smith for the final out, but as Bibee came off the mound he ignited the crowd by throwing his hands up into the air. Smith struck out Kerry Carpenter on three pitches to end the inning. "I always want to stay out there, but it's the postseason so I totally get it," Bibee said. "With how good our pen's been, I get it. It makes sense. Obviously, I want to stay out there as long as possible, but I get it." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.