CLEVELAND — Off to the Bronx we go.
The Guardians earned a heart-stopping series sweep in the American League wild-card round Saturday, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in Game 2. Rookie Oscar Gonzalez proved to be the ultimate hero, crushing a solo home run in the bottom of the 15th off former Cleveland Indians legend Corey Kluber.
Just like Friday's first matchup, it was an old-fashioned pitchers' duel, with Cleveland's Triston McKenzie hurling six shutout innings in his postseason debut while Tampa's Tyler Glasnow countered with five. Both bullpens also mostly held serve, and the two teams combined to strike out 39 times times.
The Guards threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batsman, but Jason Adam stuck out José Ramírez before getting Josh Naylor to ground into a double play. The Rays' best opportunity came in the 12th, getting runners at the corners with two down, but Ramírez and Naylor saved the day with an incredible scoop and pick to retire Manuel Margot.
Cleveland's Sam Hentges worked his way out of a similar jam in the 15th, setting the stage for Gonzalez's epic blast. The crowd — which had been singing the "SpongeBob SquarePants" theme as Gonzalez walked to the plate — leapt out of their seats from the crack of the bat and then just about exploded when the ball landed in the bleachers.
'HELLO NEW YORK!': Hear Tom Hamilton's radio call of Oscar Gonzalez's walk-off homer that sent Guardians to ALDS
It marks just the second walk-off homer in franchise history, following Tony Peña's timeless round-tripper against the Boston Red Sox in the 1995 ALDS. Its also Cleveland's first postseason series victory since winning the 2016 AL pennant, as well as just the third time they have clinched a series at home.
Up next in the division series? The AL East champion New York Yankees, winners of 100 games in 2022. The two old foes have met five times in the playoffs, with the Bombers most recently sweeping the Tribe in the 2020 wild-card series during a pandemic-shortened season.
Game 1 is set for Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with a start time still pending.
This story will be updated.