Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez hits walk-off HR in 15th for 1-0 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It took 15 innings and one swing from Oscar Gonzalez to end what had been the longest scoreless game in MLB postseason history.
The Cleveland Guardians rookie led off the bottom of the 15th with a walk-off, series-clinching home run for a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card series. It was the first homer in franchise history to clinch a postseason series, and the 13th overall in the majors.
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And it ended a marathon featuring plenty of strikeouts, stranded runners and matching zeroes to become the first postseason game to be scoreless entering the 14th inning. It was also the longest playoff game since the 2018 World Series when the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in 18 innings during Game 3.
The Guardians move on to face the New York Yankees in the best-of-five Division Series, with Game 1 set for Tuesday.
Before Gonzalez's heroics, Cleveland escaped a jam in the top of the 15th inning after singles by Vidal Brujan and Manuel Margot off Guardians reliever Sam Hentges put runners on the corners with one out for the Rays. Hentges then struck out the next two batters to keep the game scoreless, and he ultimately picked up the win after throwing three scoreless frames and striking out six.
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The Guardians' bullpen combined to toss nine shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks while fanning 12. Starting pitcher Triston McKenzie had eight strikeouts while blanking the Rays over six innings, allowing two hits and two walks. Add it all up in Game 2, and the Guardians had 20 strikeouts while limiting the Rays to six hits over 15 innings.
The Guardians struck out 19 times themselves in Game 2, becoming just the fourth team to do so while winning a postseason game.
Cleveland's best chance to score earlier in the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning after loading the bases with no outs. But Rays reliever Jason Adam struck out Jose Ramirez and then got Josh Naylor to ground into a double play to escape the jam.
The Rays nearly plated a run in the top of the 12th after putting runners on the corners with two outs. Margot followed with a chopper down the third base line, forcing Ramirez to make a backhand play and then throw to first as his momentum carried him into foul territory. The throw just beat Margot, and the play was upheld after a Tampa Bay challenge.
Rays starter Tyler Glasnow, making just his third start of the season after recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw five shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out five. The Rays bullpen tossed eight shutout innings before veteran starter Corey Kluber, who tossed a scoreless 14th, allowed the home run to Gonzales on his second pitch of the 15th inning.
That brought an end to the season for the Rays, who were held to just three hits in a 2-1 loss in Game 1 and limited to nine combined over 23 innings in the two-game sweep.
That combined pitching dominance - and offensive futility - helped make postseason history. The 15-inning, 1-0 final in Game 2 topped the 2020 Wild Card matchup in which the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 in the 12th inning after entering the frame scoreless.
