CLEVELAND — The Guardians have reached the point where Cade Smith’s arrival from the bullpen carries its own expectation: the game is about to end. Erik Sabrowski knows that standard is not exactly fair to a reliever, but it is what Smith has built inside Cleveland’s clubhouse.
“It’s probably very unfair of us, but yes,” Sabrowski said. “He’s good, plain and simple. He’s really freaking good.”
Smith added another October chapter Thursday, working four outs to finish Cleveland’s 3-2 Game 3 victory over Tampa Bay in the American League Championship Series. The save preserved a night shaped by Petey Halpin’s two-run homer, Gavin Williams’ work on the mound and a bullpen that again protected a thin lead. Smith retired all four Rays he faced, arriving in the eighth with the tying run 90 feet away.
Cleveland was ahead by one when Richie Palacios doubled against Hunter Gaddis with one out in the eighth. Taylor Walls moved Palacios to third on a groundout, and with Tampa Bay’s order turning over, manager Stephen Vogt went to his closer earlier than the traditional ninth-inning script. Vogt had said before the postseason that Smith would be used whenever the biggest outs demanded him.
Yandy Díaz made Smith earn the last out of the inning. After the count reached 1-2, Díaz spoiled four consecutive two-strike pitches and fouled off five in all. Smith finally went upstairs with a 98 mph four-seam fastball on the 10th pitch, and Díaz swung through it as Progressive Field broke loose.
“Hats off to him,” Smith said. “That was a great at-bat. That’s one of the things that makes baseball so exciting, is that there are these moments where it’s really tooth and nail and the war of attrition.”
Between innings, Smith and catcher Patrick Bailey mapped out the ninth with the expectation that Tampa Bay would come out attacking. Jonathan Aranda opened the frame by flying to Halpin in center. Then came Junior Caminero, one of the American League’s MVP contenders this season. Smith’s plan was to show him a splitter first and let that pitch shape the rest of the at-bat.
“For Caminero, in that instance, we wanted to start him off with a splitter and then see what that would tell us, and then go from there,” Smith said.
Caminero swung through a splitter in the strike zone, chased another below the zone for strike two, then watched a similar pitch miss. Smith finished him with a four-seamer up and in. Victor Mesa Jr. followed with a fly ball caught by left fielder Steven Kwan in foul ground, and Cleveland had the final out it needed.
A closer used for the moment
Smith had two days without an appearance before Thursday, a rare breather during a workload that has become extraordinary. He has pitched in seven of Cleveland’s eight postseason games this year. Dating to his rookie season in 2024, he has appeared in 19 of the Guardians’ past 21 playoff games.
No pitcher in postseason history has worked in 19 games over a span of 21 team contests, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The usage reflects both October urgency and the confidence Smith has earned. In the regular season, he made his first All-Star team and finished tied for the Major League lead with 41 saves.
Williams sees the steadiness up close. “Cade’s been nails all year,” the starter said. “We know what he’s going to do. We know what to expect from Cade. Honestly, nothing fazes Cade. He shows no emotion, and I love that from him. But he’s special in every aspect of his life.”
Vogt pointed to the habits behind the results. Smith’s routine, the manager said, has not shifted since spring training, and neither has his demeanor when the inning grows loudest.
“It’s the same every day. He does not waver, he does not change,” Vogt said. “He’s diligent and has been on the same routine probably since Spring Training, as well. When you stay consistent with your routines, you get consistent performance.”
The ALCS resumes Friday with Game 4 scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max. If Milwaukee completes a sweep of the Dodgers, the start time would move to 8 p.m. ET. For Cleveland, the late innings will likely carry a familiar feeling whenever Smith starts warming: one more test, and the expectation of another clean finish.
