CLEVELAND — The game, for the Detroit Tigers , was like a bus station during a transit strike. Nothing but stranded riders.

They left two men on base in the first inning, another in the third, a pair in the fourth, two more in the fifth, two more in the sixth, two more in the seventh, another in the eighth. You began to wonder if home plate was booby trapped.

Did anybody want to win this game on Wednesday, Oct. 1? Detroit, which ended numerous innings with strikeouts, couldn’t bring anyone around, and Cleveland couldn’t put anybody on. Through seven innings, the Guardians only had two hits, and nobody in scoring position. They rarely got the ball into the outfield.

But blow enough chances, let the other team hang around, and you get the eighth inning at Progressive Field, when rookie

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