CLEVELAND -- It¡¯s not always the flashiest. It¡¯s not always the prettiest. Sometimes, you don¡¯t even realize a run crossed the plate. Yet when you look up at the scoreboard in the ninth inning, the Guardians have the lead and closer Emmanuel Clase is trotting in to slam the door shut.

Welcome to ¡°Guards Ball.¡±

Guards Ball is a style of play. It¡¯s also a mentality. Cleveland utility man David Fry coined the phrase early in the season when it was clear that this roster was one big collective pest for opponents. It¡¯s the death-by-a-million-paper-cuts approach that prioritizes walks, base hits, elite baserunning, sacrifice bunts and flies and hustling so hard that it puts pressure on defenders for routine plays.

It¡¯s the same approach that helped them start their 2024 postseason journey on a high note, taking down the Tigers, 7-0, in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.

¡°Obviously living and dying by the home run is hard sometimes, so being able to kind of manufacture runs in different ways was cool,¡± Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said. ¡°Like a single walk here and then the big hit with that. And then with our lights-out bullpen, it's tough to beat us.¡±

It started with a Kwan double off the wall to lead off the first inning. Fry walked before Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez hit a hard ground ball down the third-base line and took off to first. Tigers third baseman Zach McKinstry couldn¡¯t handle it, as it hit off his arm and rolled into left field to allow a run to score. The play was initially ruled an error, but a day later, Major League Baseball changed the ruling and Ram¨ªrez was credited with an RBI double.

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Guards Ball.

Then, with the infield in and runners on second and third, Josh Naylor singled through the right side of the infield to allow another run to score.

Guards Ball.

That¡¯s when Lane Thomas stepped up and hit a three-run homer to make the Guardians the first American League team to score five runs before recording an out in a playoff game. The only other team to do it was the D-backs last year against the Dodgers in an 11-2 win in Game 1 of the NLDS, and they went on to sweep in three games.

¡°It starts with good at-bats, walks,¡± Guardians backstop Austin Hedges said in August, when explaining what Guards Ball is. ¡°And then manufacturing runs. ¡­ Those are the little things that we wear teams down [with]. And at all times, we¡¯re still one swing away from a three-run homer. It¡¯s really hard to compete with us when you know that we¡¯re capable of that.¡±

It continued in the sixth, when Jhonkensy Noel and Kwan reached base by drawing walks before Fry grinded through an eight-pitch at-bat that ended with a two-out double down the left-field line to plate two more runs.

Once again, Guards Ball.

Every night, the goal is the same: Score just enough runs to give the bullpen a lead, because once pitching coach Carl Willis picks up the phone and says Cade Smith¡¯s name, the team knows the game is over.

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Guards Ball is more than an offensive approach. It¡¯s calling on relievers who made their debuts just a few weeks ago like Andrew Walters and Erik Sabrowski, who have fit the mold and have yet to give up an earned run in their Major League careers. It¡¯s leaning heavily on the powerhouse hurlers like Clase, Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin for 4 1/3 scoreless frames like they did against the Tigers. It¡¯s the relief corps collectively refusing to give up a base hit because, no matter what the offense has done, the opponent cannot win if they don¡¯t get on base.

It¡¯s gritty. It doesn¡¯t look the same every night. And it¡¯s working.

¡°It's a blast,¡± Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. ¡°I mean, our guys run hard, play hard, 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.¡±

The Guardians executed it all perfectly in Game 1. It led them to 92 wins during the regular season and an AL Central title in a division with three teams in the ALDS. And now they have proof that if they stick to this script, it¡¯s going to be difficult for any team to take down a flawless execution of Guards Ball.