AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS GUARDIANS

October 5, 2024

Stephen Vogt

Progressive Field

Cleveland Guardians

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Cleveland - 7, Detroit - 0

Q. How does it feel to get your first playoff victory under your belt?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think it's great for our guys with the five days off. They worked really hard over the course of this week to stay ready, and for us to be able to come out and jump on them in the first, it was just a huge day for all of our guys.

Q. Stephen, just what did you see out of the group there? The first five guys reached base, scored. How much fun was that first five?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah. It was great. Kwan goes out and sets the tone, and then it just worked from there. David worked an outstanding walk. We get the error, and Josh comes through with a huge first and third situation -- or second and third, sorry. Gets the base hits, executes with a runner on third less than two, and Lane with the big blast.

So it was huge to get those runs on the board and kind of get some momentum and give Tanner some breathing room to go out and pitch well.

Q. How important was it that you guys threw a lot of first pitch strikes? I think 12 out of the 24 outs going into the ninth were all in three pitches or less. How important is that for your pitching staff?

STEPHEN VOGT: First-pitch strikes, that's everything in our game. And when our guys are getting ahead -- anybody's getting ahead, they're going to have a lot of success.

But we threw the ball so well. Bo called an unbelievable game, prepared so well for this and kept them off balance all day. It was a great day for our pitching.

Q. What did you see from Tanner today on the mound? Looked like he was cruising a bit. Did you want to let him finish that fifth inning as well?

STEPHEN VOGT: I always want them to go deep in the games. I thought the way Tanner was throwing the ball, the first inning a little bit of adrenaline, put some good at-bats, got his pitch count up, but then he settled in there really well in two through four. But at that point with the five-run lead, third time around, Meadows gets the single, and it was time to go to the bullpen.

Q. Stephen, how difficult is that? You guys have six days off, and to come out and explode in the first inning like you did. And what does it say about this team and what you guys have done over the last week?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think for anybody the way we looked at it was we're going to get five days of rest. We get to recover. We get to turn off for a few days. And we worked them hard.

To the players' credit, they put a ton of effort into our workouts. They got competitive with each other in some simulated games, and it showed. We came out ready to swing the bat, and we looked like we didn't take five days off. So really proud of the way guys got after it the last five days.

Q. We talked about so much of the platoon matchups and the advantages your lineup has, but most of your run production came when they seemingly had the advantage in those moments. What did you see about your guys' approach in those sequences to be able to capitalize?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah. I mean, you look at Lane and David doing the majority of the big blows, and they've faced righties all year. And we do look for the platoon advantage as much as possible, but in those situations Lane has hit righties his whole career, and David has had a great year versus righties as well. So it was nice to see those guys come through.

We don't just blindly play the numbers. We use our judgment in game and things like that. But I couldn't be more proud of our guys.

Q. If you could look ahead now to Game 2 with Matthew Boyd going, what do you like best of what he's done for you now?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think what Matthew has brought is just consistency. He's been the same every time out. He's attacked the zone. He's got really good stuff, able to keep them off balance and really stabilized our rotation when we got him back healthy.

So excited for Matt. He's had a long road of recovery to get to this point and been great for us the last couple months. So really excited to see him take the ball in Game 2.

Q. You guys have talked about this all season long, but I guess how fun is Guards baseball for you guys?

STEPHEN VOGT: It's a blast. I mean, our guys run hard, play hard, you know, work hard before the game. And again, you try to cause chaos on offense, and our guys did that today with the infield single, just trying to make things happen. Like I said, we get the break in the first inning, but our guys kept their heads down, and they're running hard. It's who we are. We're always going to play hard until the last out is recorded.

Q. Obviously you have to react to how the game goes, but was there a concerted effort on your part to try to get Cade, Tim, Hunter and Emmanuel each an opportunity to get that first postseason opportunity here in Game 1?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think, you know, obviously the way the game went, we wanted to use our guys, nobody's pitched in a week, and you don't want to let that game get away. I mean, anybody in our bullpen we feel really confident about, but when you have the opportunity with a day off tomorrow, you're going to use your guys to finish the game.

And to their credit, I mean they got, what, four and a third, and none of them were overextended with their pitch count. It was just really impressive the job that those four guys did.

Q. Were you at all surprised that Cade comes in, faces four and strikes out four?

STEPHEN VOGT: I mean, at this point Cade's been so special. And you never want to say you're not surprised, but what Cade has done all year long, what Timmy has done all year long, Gaddy, Clase, a number of our bullpen guys, and pitching in general has been fun. But Cade, there's no heartbeat. There's no pulse. It's just come in and get the job done.

Q. Stephen, how important was it at the top of the order what Fry and Kwan did today?

STEPHEN VOGT: Again, Kwannie's been our spark plug all year. When he goes, we go. David has just been -- no matter what the role we've thrown David in, he meets it with the same attitude. David is a pro. He's been a big part of our team all year, and the guy's attitude never changes no matter what he's going through. So it's fun to see him come through with a big day.

Q. You talked a little about Lane Thomas. How good is it, though, to see what he was able to put together towards the end of the regular season translate into this early part of the postseason?

STEPHEN VOGT: The first game of the postseason, the first pitch he sees a three-run homer, it's -- Lane Thomas is a phenomenal player. He has been in this league for a long time. Took him a little while to get his feet wet with us and get comfortable, but once he did, he's been great. And hitting behind Nayls has really provided a lot, and that was a really fun moment for him.