Guardians walk off Rays, advance to ALDS

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Oscar Gonzalez broke up the longest scoreless postseason game in major league history with a leadoff home run in the 15th inning, giving the Cleveland Guardians a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday and a two-game Wild Card Series sweep.

Gonzalez, who walks to the plate to the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme song, drove a 1-0 cutter — the 432nd pitch in the nearly five-hour game — off Corey Kluber over the 19-foot wall in left-center to touch off a wild celebration inside Progressive Field.

Gonzalez finished his follow-through and watched where the ball had landed while taking 10 small steps toward first, still holding his bat straight down. He then flipped the bat behind him and started trotting around the bases.

As Gonzalez rounded the bases, and his teammates gathered near home plate to greet him, the sellout crowd of 34,971 fans shook the ballpark as Cleveland’s surprise season turned more story book.

The youngest team in the major leagues, Cleveland opens the best-of-five Division Series on Tuesday in New York against the AL East champion New York Yankees.

Cleveland defied odds all year in its first season after adopting the Guardians nickname. The team unexpectedly won the AL Central going away, swept the more experienced Rays and now take on the Yankees with their big bats and bigger payroll.

Gonzalez was one of 17 players to make their debut for the Guardians this season, so perhaps it was fitting he advanced them.

“I don’t think by that point we cared,” manager Terry Francona said. “It could have been one of the old guys. We didn’t care. We’re not biased. I was happy that he hit it.”

Tampa Bay was bounced quickly from its fourth straight postseason appearance. The Rays finished the