Cleveland Guardians get massive boost from unexpected player in MLB Playoffs

By hook or by crook, the Cleveland Guardians forced a pivotal Game 3 against the Detroit Tigers in the American League Wild Card Series.

The Guardians are proving that sound solid pitching along with timely offense is a recipe that can work in two consecutive postseasons.

But an unlikely hero, Brayan Rocchio, has consistently delivered for the Guardians in October.

The 24 year-old switch-hitting infielder has appeared in 12 postseason games where he turns into a completely different player than what Cleveland has to work with throughout the regular season.

In those 12 playoff games, Rocchio’s batting average is .308. His OPS is .899. He has scored five runs, drawn five walks and batted in three runs – partially thanks to a pair of thunderous home runs that have kept Cleveland’s playoff hopes alive in back-to-back postseasons.

Rocchio understands that when the lights are the brightest, his bat needs to wake up in October.

“This is competing time,” Rocchio said. “There's no self-awareness. It's being [as] competitive as you can.”

Rocchio’s towering solo blast against the Tigers in Game 2 on Wednesday gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead in a game where runs seemed hard to find. That moment created a spark, as Guardians catcher Bo Naylor was able to join the action with a three-run blast that gave the Guardians five total runs in the eighth inning.

Cleveland’s offense has been the weak point of the organization in back-to-back postseasons. Even as the Guardians made MLB history by deleting a 15.5 game deficit to win the American League Central, it felt like there were several nights where the offense needed to be carried by stellar pitching.

With Steven Kwan’s bat having cooled off during the postseason, the Guardians needed anybody to step up and complement Jose Ramirez. Playoff Rocchio – or Rocctober – has answered that call for Cleveland’s second-year manager Stephen Vogt. 

“It was a frustrating day offensively for us,” Vogt said. “For our guys to explode like that and get some separation felt really good.”

Rocchio’s eighth inning blast game on a 99.9 mph pitch. That’s the fifth-fastest pitch a Guardians player has homered off of under pitch tracking.

It was Rocchio’s three-run homer off the foul pole in the tenth inning against the Texas Rangers that sent Cleveland into the playoffs with a bang in the final game of the regular season. Less than one week later, his heroics have come up big again – giving the Guardians a fighting chance at moving on in the MLB Playoffs.