Brayan Rocchio starts eighth-inning rally as Guardians even series with 6-1 win over Tigers

CLEVELAND — "Playoff Rocc" arrived in the nick of time Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field. Brayan Rocchio, who earned the nickname for shining in the postseason last year, hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and the Guardians staved off elimination by rolling past the Tigers 6-1 in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. The series between the Central Division rivals will be decided Thursday in Game 3 at Progressive Field. Held to a run on two hits through the first seven innings, Cleveland scored five times in the eighth, beginning with Rocchio's solo shot to right off relief pitcher Troy Melton to break a 1-all tie. "I think we played some really good baseball," Steven Kwan said. "It was a 1-1 game for a long time and you have to be almost perfect when you're playing defense and pitching, and I feel like we did that for a while. We were waiting for the big hit, and 'Playoff Rocc' came up and did his thing." "It was huge, an 0-2 count and he was ready to fire," manager Stephen Vogt said of Rocchio, who hit a walk-off homer on the final day of the regular season as the Guardians clinched the division title. "Our guys jumped on Melton pretty well. For us, it was a frustrating day offensively — two hits leading into the eighth. For our guys to explode and get separation felt good." Even without a bat in his hand, Guardians star Jose Ramirez was able to help as Rocchio approached the plate. "He just told me, 'If he's going to throw you a cutter, swing like it's a fastball,' and that's what I was able to do," Rocchio said through an interpreter. Daniel Schneemann added an RBI single before Bo Naylor connected on a three-run homer off Brant Hurter. Melton did not take it well. "There are not many positives now," he said. "It sucks, but if I wake up tomorrow, that will be a positive, I guess." The game began ominously for Cleveland when rookie Chase DeLauter, who was making his major league debut, lost a ball in the sun in center field in the first inning then had it pop out of his glove. He atoned to end a shaky fourth inning for right-hander Tanner Bibee and the Guardians. Bibee allowed a leadoff double to Riley Greene that was misplayed by right fielder George Valera, then walked two straight to load the bases for Javy Baez. Baez appeared to plate two with a single to center as it was originally ruled that Zach McKinstry beat DeLauter's throw to Ramirez at third. The Guardians challenged and the call was reversed, negating the run that crossed after the out and leaving the game tied at 1. "That was a huge play," Vogt said. "That was an unbelievable debut (for DeLauter). I thought everything about it was great. His at-bats were outstanding. He could have easily let that play in the first inning rattle him and take him out of the rest of the day." Bibee sidestepped the DeLauter error by striking out the next three batters and only allowed a run for the day, but he failed to last five innings. Still, Vogt praised the right-hander. "Tanner was phenomenal," Vogt said. "Obviously we give him the extra base in the first, but he gets the three punchouts. Pitch count got up. Pitch count doesn't matter. As many outs as you can get, that's doing your job. Unbelievable job by our bullpen, no matter who it was." Cleveland relievers shut out Detroit on three hits over the final 4 1/3 innings. The Tigers left two runners on base in three straight innings from the fifth through seventh, and a postseason-record 15 for the game. Left-hander Tim Herrin got out of a sticky spot in the seventh when he struck out Jahmai Jones and Wenceel Perez to end the inning with runners on the corners. "They've been unbelievable for a good portion of the year, if not the entire year," Bibee said of the relievers. "I feel like they keep the same mentality the same way our hitters do, kind of the next man up. All those guys are unbelievable, especially the last month." "The dogs in the bullpen, we go out there no matter the situation, especially this time of year," Herrin said. "We're going out there to get a job done, put up a zero, no matter the circumstance. We just don't want to let this team down." Cleveland's only hit through the first four innings was Valera's first career postseason homer to center off starter Casey Mize in the first. Their backs are against the wall again in Game 3, but the Guardians wouldn't have it any other way. "It's the same thing as it was today, yesterday," Valera said. "We're going to do our best to win the game, keep the line moving, help our pitchers out and win the series." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.