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'Playoff Rocchio,' a young outfield and stellar bullpen highlight Guardians-Tigers Game 2
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- 'Playoff Rocchio,' a young outfield and stellar bullpen highlight Guardians-Tigers Game 2
Editor's note: Follow Guardians vs. Tigers live updates and highlights from Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series .
CLEVELAND — The Guardians , whom the Detroit Tigers were unable to bury all season , survived to live another day.
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" Playoff Rocchio " arrived at just the right time to lead to a five-run eighth inning, Cleveland's bullpen escaped several jams and the Guardians beat the Tigers 6-1 in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 1 to force a decisive Game 3 on Oct. 2.
The winner of that game will head to Seattle to face the Mariners in the ALDS.
Here are the top takeaways you need to know from the Guardians' Wild Card Series Game 2 win over the Detroit Tigers , which forced a winner-take-all Game 3.
Brayan Rocchio transforms into 'Playoff Rocchio' in October again
If Brayan Rocchio played like this all the time, he'd be a perennial All-Star and probably hitting second in the everyday lineup. It isn't clear exactly why "Playoff Rocchio" comes out of hibernation as soon as the leaves begin to change color in the fall, but for the Guardians it's at least at the most advantageous time.
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It's also becoming difficult to deny its validity. For the second consecutive year, Rocchio is playing his best baseball in the postseason and becoming a much bigger weapon in the lineup than he was for most of the season.
In Game 2, Cleveland entered the eighth inning running out of time to save their season with the score tied 1-1. Troy Melton then threw Rocchio a fastball — which Jose Ramirez had told him to look for — and the man whose first name is becoming "Playoff" launched it over the right-field wall for a go-ahead home run . From there, the inning unraveled on the Tigers, and it was on to Game 3.
"Playoff Rocchio, it's a special sight," Guardians reliever Tim Herrin said. "I mean, it's 'Rocctober' for a reason. It's incredible. … We saw it last postseason, we've seen it for the last week and a half now, with this division run and now today. He lives for the moment."
After not doing much during the regular season in 2024 (.206 average, .614 OPS), Rocchio came alive last October, hitting .333 with a .906 OPS in 10 playoff games. It's been a similar story in 2025. Over his last nine regular season games, as the Guardians chased down the Tigers for the division title, Rocchio hit .286 with a .787 OPS, along with several highlight-reel defensive plays at second base. Then came his mammoth home run in Game 2.
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Playoff Rocchio might have helped their playoff hopes. In the regular season, he's been arguably a replacement-level player. In the playoffs, he's been an irreplaceable part of the lineup.
Cleveland Guardians reliever Tim Herrin celebrates during the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 1, 2025, in Cleveland.
Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis prove Guardians bullpen is still elite
The story of the 2024 Guardians was their historically elite bullpen . That group has garnered more attention for who was sidelined in July because of an MLB investigation , but without its bullpen in Game 2 Cleveland's postseason would be over as you're reading this.
Guardians relievers finished the final 4⅓ innings of Game 2 and allowed only two hits. Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin, especially, both escaped jams that otherwise might have changed the game.
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Herrin entered with runners on the corners and nobody out in a 1-1 game, and with the Guardians offense floundering because Playoff Rocchio and Bo Naylor — who hit a three-run home run — hadn't yet saved the day. That job, first, went to Herrin, who struck out Jahmai Jones and Wenceel Perez to keep it tied.
Herrin, normally not one to get overly emotional on the mound, yelled and celebrated as he walked back to the dugout with the adrenaline running through him.
"I mean, that's a lot of fun getting that strikeout in that moment with all the fans in Cleveland," Herrin said. "That place was electric. I could barely hear the Pitch Com. You live for those moments growing up, you watch postseason baseball to get thrown in the situation like that one … it's a lot of fun."
Cleveland's bullpen was not as much of a total shut-down unit as they were in 2024, especially when Emmanuel Clase was sidelined because of MLB's still-ongoing gambling investigation. Still, they finished the regular season with the third-best bullpen by both fWAR (6.6) and ERA (3.44), and they had the league's best FIP at 3.49.
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They are still arguably (it's an easy argument, too) a top-three bullpen in baseball, and the relievers manager Stephen Vogt can unleash late in games remain one of the biggest reasons why the Guardians are such a difficult team to truly bury. If Cleveland is tied or trailing late in games, they know the kind of weapons-grade arms that are waiting in the bullpen, and they know those relievers effectively buy them more time to come back and score the needed run or two.
It helps to stave off panic when they have confidence that a one-run deficit will stay there and not turn into a five-run hole. And in Game 2, Herrin and the rest of the relievers repeatedly coming up with the needed strikeout played a major role in the Guardians avoiding elimination.
The 2024 bullpen was a special group. But this 2025 unit remains a real weapon.
Cleveland Guardians’ George Valera (35) celebrates as he rounds the bases after a solo home run in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 1, 2025, in Cleveland.
Chase DeLauter , George Valera give glimpse into possible Guardians long-term outfield
This was the type of outfield the Guardians envisioned for years, a talented All-Star in one spot and a few highly regarded prospects making a major impact.
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While Michael Brantley and then Steven Kwan have held down left field for years, center field and right field have been revolving doors as the Guardians have searched their minor league system, free agency, other teams' rosters in trades, under the rug and behind the refrigerator for any consistency (or even optimism) at those positions.
Chase DeLauter and George Valera for the last several years represented their best hopes at stabilizing the outfield. Both dealt with setbacks of various reasons, including injuries, especially in the case of DeLauter. Both began to sink down top-100 prospect lists as they struggled to break through to the major leagues.
Valera was recently called up and had a few big swings, including a key home run in the final regular-season series against the Tigers. DeLauter , coming off hamate bone surgery, skipped the normal route to the majors and made his debut in Game 2, becoming just the sixth player in modern baseball history to do so.
In Game 2, Valera crushed a home run through the wind to center field. DeLauter misplayed a fly ball in the wind and the sun in the first inning — it was like something out of a bad sitcom — before coming up with arguably the biggest play of the game when he threw out Zach McKinstry at third base in the fourth inning.
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The Guardians might have been holding their collective breath a bit by putting DeLauter and Valera in the starting outfield in an elimination game. But those two carry with them a great deal of high-ceiling potential when they stay healthy. And the Guardians hope they can roam the outfield at Progressive Field for years to come.
Perhaps Game 2 was a glimpse into that future, if all goes well.
"It's tough, because all the injuries we had and the times we were there grinding, trying to get better every day, we always pushed each other and believed we were going to be here at some point," Valera said of the journey for him and DeLauter to the major leagues. "We spent a lot of time in Arizona believing that this moment was going to get here, and thank God it did. I'm super happy."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Key takeaways from Guardians Game 2 win over Detroit Tigers
