Guardians clinch playoff berth in wild finish; Astros eliminated - ESPN

CLEVELAND — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said in the midst of Cleveland's 10-game losing streak in early July that things would turn around.

Vogt ended up selling his team a little short, as the Guardians made one of the biggest turnarounds in baseball history.

Cleveland clinched a postseason spot in fittingly improbable fashion. CJ Kayfus was hit in the arm by a fastball from Texas Rangers reliever Robert Garcia with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning Saturday night, scoring Petey Halpin with the winning run to give the Guardians a 3-2 victory that put them in the playoffs.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time since at least 1920 that a team won on a walk-off hit by pitch to clinch a postseason spot.

«When they walked [Gabriel] Arias [to load the bases], I knew I had a job to do. I knew I was going to get that job done one way or another, but I definitely didn't think it was going to be like that,» said Kayfus, who was called up from the minors in early August.

The Guardians (86-74) became the fourth major league team and first in the American League to reach the postseason after having a 10-game losing streak, joining the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers, 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1951 New York Giants.

«It's exactly us. Of course, we're going to get in on a walk-off hit by pitch,» a champagne-soaked Vogt said in the clubhouse as his team was celebrating. «Just to stop and think about where we came from to get here. There's no words. I couldn't be more proud of these guys. They've earned every bit of this.»

According to FanGraphs, the Guardians had a 2.9% chance to make the postseason and a 0.2% chance to win the AL Central on Sept. 1.

Cleveland remains tied with Detroit for the division