Guardians beat Rangers to clinch franchise's 18th postseason berth

CLEVELAND — Playing in October seemed like a dream when August began and the third-place Guardians faced a double-digit deficit in the Central Division standings. But fantasy became reality in front of a sellout crowd Saturday night at Progressive Field in the most improbable of ways. Rookie C.J. Kayfus was hit by a pitch from left-hander Robert Garcia with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning and Cleveland beat Texas 3-2 to clinch the 18th postseason berth in franchise history. "I'm just so proud of these guys. I know we're not done. We're not satisfied," manager Stephen Vogt said in a jubilant, champagne-soaked clubhouse after the win. "Just to stop and think about where we came from to get here, there's no words. They've earned every part of this, and I'm just so excited. "Of course we're gonna get in (the playoffs) on a walk-off hit by pitch." Making the accomplishment even more impressive was that the Guardians overcame a 10-game losing skid and 1-9 stretch, plus the loss of starting pitcher Luis Ortiz and All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase along the way. "This shows our resilience, more than anything else," said closer Cade Smith, who got the win after retiring all five batters he faced upon relieving Erik Sabrowski with one out in the eighth. "To have the highs and lows we had this year, to be able to bounce back, stick through it, fight through those, get through those and get hot at the right time and put ourselves in position to make it to October is absolutely emblematic of our character." The Guardians are tied with the Tigers for first place and can win the division with a win or a Detroit loss in the regular-season finale today. They will host the three-game wild card series unless they lose and the Tigers win. Cleveland received a positive omen after Texas scored once in the first off left-hander Joey Cantillo. Little-used Johnathan Rodriguez, a surprising addition to the lineup who was called up Wednesday to replace an injured David Fry, belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, lining a pitch from Rangers starter Jacob Latz over the wall in right-center for a 2-1 lead. Vogt had Rodriguez batting cleanup behind Jose Ramirez. "When we were looking at it, it made the most sense," Vogt said. "Sometimes you just gotta go on a hunch. When you lose David Fry (to an injury), it's not clear who that spot goes to, so why not J-Rod?" Cantillo allowed a leadoff double and a run three batters into the game on Josh Jung's single. But he surrendered only one more run — on an Adolis Garcia solo shot that tied the game at 2 in the fourth — during his 5 2/3-inning outing. Latz didn't surrender a run after the Rodriguez homer. Cleveland blew the best of opportunities when Gabriel Arias' liner to left was misplayed into a triple by a diving Cody Freeman to start the fifth. But Arias remained at third when Jhonkensy Noel, Brayan Rocchio and Austin Hedges struck out. Cleveland's ninth began harmlessly enough when Garcia retired the first two batters, Angel Martinez and Ramirez. But Rodriguez walked and was replaced by pinch runner Petey Halpin. Kyle Manzardo dropped a shallow fly ball into left for a single to move Halpin to third, and Texas walked Arias intentionally to load the bases for Kayfus. Kayfus took a strike before Garcia hit him on the right forearm to touch off the celebration. "I don't care how it happened. I just know we're popping (champagne) bottles, and we're gonna enjoy it," reliever Hunter Gaddis said. "That's a big motto of this team, 'whatever it takes,'" Kayfus said. "When they walked Arias, I knew I had a job to do, and I knew I was gonna get that job done one way or another. I definitely didn't think it was gonna be like that, but it is what it is." The Guardians drew a crowd of 36,000 fans, accounting for the eighth sellout of the season. It gave Cleveland over two million fans for the second straight year and first time since 2007-08. Guardians players posed for a picture before partying with fans remaining in the ballpark. It was a fitting celebration for a team that was counted out multiple times throughout the season. "I've never been more proud in my life, that's honest," Hedges said. "As we were making this run, I tried not to get ahead of myself and expect us to get into the playoffs. It's so hard (to do), but I knew in my heart that if we pulled this off and found a way in October … I don't think I could imagine being any prouder." "They fought. They went through heck and back all year long and never wavered, never stopped believing, never stopped working, stayed positive," Vogt said. "They earned every bit of this champagne burn." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.