Thomas’ slam puts Guardians by Tigers, into ALCS
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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
CLEVELAND — Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas understands moments like the one presented to him in Game 5 of the AL Division Series on Saturday don’t happen often when an ace like Tarik Skubal of the Tigers is on the mound.
Skubal had stymied Cleveland hitters throughout yet another brilliant outing but finally ran into trouble in the fifth inning of the decisive contest between AL Central foes. After Skubal hit Jose Ramirez with a pitch to bring home the tying run, Thomas stepped up to the plate against the likely AL Cy Young Award winner with the bases loaded.
The crowd at Progressive Field finally began to stir after a sleepy first few innings on offense for the home team. Its mood changed in one swing.
“You dream of at-bats like that as a little kid, and to do it on this stage, in this game, and to come through for the guys in the clubhouse, it feels awesome,” Thomas said after hitting a Skubal 97 mph fastball 396 feet to left field for a grand slam. “About the third inning I was talking with some guys, and I’m like, ‘Whatever we’re doing doesn’t seem to be working. We have to put the ball in play.'”
Thomas’ slam propelled the Guardians to a 5-1 lead in an eventual 7-3 triumph. He became the fourth player in MLB postseason history to hit a go-ahead grand slam in a winner-take-all game, according to ESPN Research.
After Cleveland advanced to the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees, teammates heaped praise on Thomas during a champagne-and-cigar-filled celebration inside their clubhouse.
“He’s a great ballplayer,” Josh Naylor said of Thomas, who was acquired in a July trade with the Nationals. “I knew that before we picked him up.”
Ramirez added: “When I got hit, I just knew he would come through. I knew he would.”
The home run was hit 2 feet farther than his first-inning blast in Game 1, a 7-0 win, cementing Thomas as the hero of the series. He has come a long way since the trade considering he hit just .111 with a .197 OBP in his first 20 games with his new team.
“We paid a steep price [three prospects] to get him but hopefully it was to lead to moments like this,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said while wiping his eyes of champagne. “He’s a complete baseball player.”
Thomas just needed to get his “feet under him,” according to Cleveland hitting coach Chris Valaika.
“We went through a little evolution with him,” Valaika said. “Once he became one of the guys here, he we fine.”
No matter how he was feeling, facing Skubal was a daunting task. Until he hit Ramirez with the bases loaded, the 27-year-old left-hander had thrown 17 scoreless innings in the postseason, including seven against Cleveland in Game 2. There was no solving him to that point, but Valaika at least wanted his hitters to remember one thing: “Don’t be late on that first fastball.”
Thomas made sure of that and instantly changed the course of the game. His home run helped manager Stephen Vogt navigate his bullpen a bit easier after he removed starter Matthew Boyd after just two innings.
“There were a couple times that we had to kind of go off the script, but at the same time, it was watch the game, see what the game is telling us to do,” Vogt said.
Eventually, the ball landed in closer Emmanuel Clase‘s hand for a potential six-out save. The AL saves leader had been burned for a three-run homer by Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter in Game 2, then was touched for another run in a Guardians win in Game 4.
But Saturday it was time for some redemption.
He struck out Carpenter on an epic eight-pitch at-bat with a runner on in the eighth inning — then stared him down. Seven of the eight pitches he threw were at least 100 mph.
“It went from 100 to 150,” Clase said through an interpreter of his intensity. “I’m a competitor. That was in my mind. That wasn’t my best pitch [in Game 2]. People were saying, ‘He’s my daddy.’ That’s the real Emmanuel Clase. … Even when he was on deck, I kept staring at him because that was my moment. This made it even for us.”
Clase got his moment and a few more as he shut the door in the ninth inning, putting an end to a wholly entertaining five-game series.
“This was an incredible series,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “It’s great for baseball. It’s great for the AL Central.”
And it was great for Thomas, who shook off early struggles to become a Cleveland hero. His home run off one of the best pitchers in baseball has his team four wins from the Fall Classic.
“Definitely had some struggles those first two weeks, or maybe even the month,” Thomas said. “But I’m just thankful they kind of hung with me and let me get my feet under me and kept giving me at-bats. You just have to be thankful for that.”
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Dave Wilson
AUSTIN, Texas — A week after Arch Manning struggled in a loss at Ohio State, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian saw his quarterback bounce back in a 38-7 win over San Jose State and said this game showcased more of Manning’s style.
Manning matched a career high with four touchdown passes, going 19-of-30 for 295 yards, and added a 20-yard touchdown scramble, tiptoeing down the left sideline at the end of the third quarter.
“I thought today was a by-product of the week of work. He played aggressive throughout the week. He studied the game plan. He knew exactly what we were trying to do, and I thought today he played more of his style,” Sarkisian said. “He extended plays, used his legs, scrambles for a touchdown. That’s the style of player that he is.”
On several plays, Manning rolled out and found receivers. A few of his passes were dropped, with Sarkisian saying Texas “didn’t catch the ball great for him.” But Sarkisian was pleased that Manning made plays when things broke down.
“Him playing his game and not trying to play at somebody else’s style of game, I think it is important for him,” Sarkisian said.
Manning also threw a bad interception while under pressure, heaving the ball into double coverage from the Spartans’ 14-yard line. San Jose State defenders had a shot at picking off a couple of his other throws but failed to haul them in.
“A lot to work on,” Manning said. “I thought it was sloppy for my part. Can’t turn the ball over in the red area. I’ve got to play better. I think all around, it was a little sloppy.”
Manning started slowly, going 3-of-6 for 11 yards on his first two drives. But then, on a third-and-3 with 2:52 left in the first quarter, Manning found Parker Livingstone along the left sideline, and he turned it upfield for an 83-yard touchdown.
The touchdown throw was part of a stretch where Manning went 5-for-5 for 142 yards and four touchdowns, including TDs on three consecutive passing attempts — a 3-yarder to Livingstone, then 36- and 16-yarders to tight end Jack Endries.
“Anytime you can get points on the board after a slow start, it feels good,” Manning said. “Then, [we] finally got some rhythm. Defense started stepping up, too, so we’ve just got to start quicker next week.”
The Longhorns, who committed 12 penalties for 115 yards, have four new offensive line starters, and many new players at wide receiver and tight end. And even Texas stars such as edge rusher Colin Simmons (two penalties for offsides, one for roughing the passer) didn’t perform their best.
“I think as our team in general goes, this is not the best version of Texas football this season that we’re going to see,” Sarkisian said. “My foot’s got to get in their butt here on Monday morning. That’s unacceptable. And there’s a standard in which we want to play the game, and 12 penalties does not meet that standard.”
Manning said all week that he had to play better for Texas to win. He was encouraged by his performance Saturday, finding a way to make plays, but doesn’t believe he’s at his best.
Sarkisian said Manning is gifted with his dual-threat abilities, but his team is learning on the fly how to block for him while he’s scrambling or that he could throw while on the move.
“There’s things that we’re learning as we go as a team, but those are some of the growing pains that we have to work through,” Sarkisian said.
Those growing pains still resulted in an easy win at home Saturday. For Sarkisian, he said he can see the trust growing among his players, including Manning.
“The guys rally around him, you can feel it today on the sidelines,” Sarkisian said. “They really like playing with Arch, and that’s important.”
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Andrea Adelson
The father of Florida State linebacker Ethan Pritchard was on the sideline Saturday for the Seminoles’ game against East Texas A&M.
Earl Pritchard and another family member were on the sideline wearing his son’s No. 35 jersey. Ethan Pritchard remains hospitalized in Tallahassee after surviving a gunshot wound to the head last weekend.
Prayers up. pic.twitter.com/NCTZyoxiTV
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) September 6, 2025
Florida State safety Earl Little Jr. brought out a No. 35 jersey to midfield for the coin toss, and Florida State players wore No. 35 wristbands to honor their teammate.
All Garnet with the Gold lids
Continuing to think about Ethan 🙏🏼#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/FD6GSNpo5F
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) September 6, 2025
#NoleFamily 🍢 pic.twitter.com/HSTjx9e7xp
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) September 6, 2025
Defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. wore a T-shirt with Pritchard’s face on it during pregame warmups.
According to Earl Pritchard, Ethan Pritchard was driving his aunt home when he was shot in the back of the head in Havana, Florida, 16 miles from Tallahassee, on Sunday night.
The Seminoles routed East Texas A&M 77-3 on Saturday, after which coach Mike Norvell presented Earl Pritchard with the game ball, and asked him to break the rock – a tradition generally given to the player of the game after each Seminoles victory.
💛♥️ #NoleFamily pic.twitter.com/kg2kJtMNRA
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) September 6, 2025
Norvell grew emotional as he discussed Pritchard during his postgame media availability.
“The way that he plays the game … he loves it, he absolutely loves it. To know that right now that’s taken away from him in a senseless act, you don’t always know why you have to go through things in life but I do believe God has his hand over Ethan and this football team,” Norvell said.
“To have Earl here today – He’s a wonderful man, and being with him I know it’s so very hard. I know it’s hard for anybody to have to go through, but he told me early in this week, ‘I know where my boy wants to be so I’m going to go stand in his place for him.'”
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